Parke v. Fant

The trial court correctly applied the liberal time limitation of O.C.G.A. § 1-3-1 d, in assuming jurisdiction under the UCCJA to hear a custody dispute after the mother moved the children out of state.

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Anne Parke and Joseph Fant divorced in Georgia, and Parke was awarded custody of the couple’s two children. After Parke moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, Fant petitioned a Georgia court to obtain custody of the children. Parke moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act UCCJA, the trial court lacked jurisdiction.1 The trial court denied the motion to dismiss, and we granted Parke’s application for discretionary appeal. For reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. The undisputed facts show that Parke and Fant divorced in 1993. Pursuant to the divorce settlement agreement, Parke had primary physical custody of the children. On August 3, 2000, Parke moved to New Orleans. At that time, the children were staying with Fant as part of their summer visitation provided for in the divorce settlement agreement. On August 8, 2000, the children joined their mother in New Orleans.

Fant subsequently filed a petition in Georgia for a change in custody on Monday, February 5, 2001. Parke moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that the Georgia court lacked jurisdiction over the children. Under former OCGA § 19-9-43 a 1 B, Georgia courts retain jurisdiction to make child custody determinations if Georgia had been the child’s home state within six months before commencement of the proceeding and the child is absent from this state because of her removal or retention by a person claiming her custody . . . and a parent . . . continues to live in this state. According to Parke, the children were deemed to have moved on August 3, 2000 —when she relocated to Louisiana with the children’s belongings. Thus, Parke reasons, Georgia retained jurisdiction until February 3, 2001. Although the trial court agreed with the mother’s reasoning, it nonetheless concluded that Fant’s petition was timely filed within the period during which Georgia retained jurisdiction. Because February 3, 2001, fell on a Saturday, the trial court applied OCGA § 1-3-1 d 3, which provides, inter alia, that

Parke v. Fant

The trial court correctly applied the liberal time limitation of O.C.G.A. § 1-3-1 d, in assuming jurisdiction under the UCCJA to hear a custody dispute after the mother moved the children out of state.

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