Ennis v. Ennis

The trial court did not have personal jurisdiction over the wife, as she lacked sufficient minimum contacts within the state of Georgia.

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We granted Gail Burgess Ennis’s Wife application for interlocutory review on January 18, 2011, to determine whether the trial court erred by denying her motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Finding that the Wife did not have sufficient “minimum contacts” within the State of Georgia, we hold that the trial court does not have personal jurisdiction over the Wife. The trial court does, however, have jurisdiction over the res of the marriage under OCGA § 19-5-2. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part. Appellee Robert Sheldon Ennis Husband filed this action for divorce on June 28, 2010 seeking divorce, alimony, division of marital property, and attorney fees. Husband relies solely on Georgia’s long-arm statute, OCGA § 9-10-915, for personal jurisdiction over Wife. Wife answered on August 20, 2010, raising lack of personal jurisdiction as her first affirmative defense. She also filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.

The parties were married on June 16, 1973 in Richmond, Virginia. The couple lived in Georgia for approximately 18 months in the mid-1980s, but did not own a home here. The couple returned to Georgia in 1996 and lived in Bogart, Georgia and then Savannah, Georgia. However, they did not own property in either location. The couple then moved to Richmond, Virginia in the fall of 2003, where Wife remains. The couple separated in 2005 after an episode of domestic violence, which caused Wife to leave the home and Husband to receive mental health treatment. Though Husband returned to Georgia in April 2005, Wife has had no contact with him since their separation. Wife has never owned property in Georgia. She has visited Georgia twice since the separation: once to deliver Husband’s belongings and once to visit her stepdaughter for two days. She did not have any contact with Husband during either trip.

Ennis v. Ennis

The trial court did not have personal jurisdiction over the wife, as she lacked sufficient minimum contacts within the state of Georgia.

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