In Re The Marriage Of Kimura

471 N.W.2d 869 (1991)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H and W were married in Japan in 1965. Both are Japanese citizens. They have a daughter and a son. The daughter, Izumi, was twenty-three at the time of the dissolution hearing. The son, Naoki, was twenty-one. H and W have lived apart since September 1973. H is a pediatric surgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. In February 1987, H had been invited to the University of Iowa as a guest lecturer. In October, he was hired as an Associate Professor of Medicine. In November, after receiving his green card, H moved to Iowa City where he began working at the university. In March 1988 H filed a divorce mediation proceeding with the family court in Japan. In July, he withdrew from the proceeding. In December H filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in Johnson County District Court. A copy of the petition was mailed to W in Japan. In addition, notice of the petition was published in the Iowa City Press Citizen. W filed a pre-answer motion in which she contested the district court's subject matter and personal jurisdiction. She asked that the Iowa proceedings be dismissed or abated. W alleged that on March 16, 1988, she herself had filed a divorce mediation proceeding in Japan and that the Japanese court had personal and subject matter jurisdiction. She asked the district court in the alternative to stay the Iowa proceedings so that the Japanese court could hear all the issues related to the marriage. The district court denied W's motion. The court concluded it had subject matter jurisdiction. It also concluded it had no personal jurisdiction over W. The court carefully noted that its relief had to be confined to a 'determination of the marital status' of the parties. The court found that there had been a breakdown of the marital relationship. The court concluded that H had satisfied the residency requirements of Iowa Code section 598.6. It then dissolved the marriage and assigned costs to H. W appealed.