Ocs/Pappas v. O’brien And Bernheim v. Pappas

67 A.3d 916 (2013)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

M and F were married in Oklahoma in 1979. They had two sons, P.P. and A.P. The couple moved to New York in 1983 until they separated in 1985. They were divorced in Los Angeles County, California, in October 1986. The parties were awarded joint legal custody of the children, then ages three and five. Primary physical custody was awarded to M, and F was ordered to pay child support in the amount of $237 per month for each child. F returned to Oklahoma, and M moved with the children to Atlanta, Georgia. In October 1994, the Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia, issued an order domesticating the California divorce order and modifying the child support obligation. The court ordered F to pay $350 per month for each child, as well as a percentage of any bonuses F should receive in addition to his salary. This order stated that child support would cease if 'custody is changed by a Court of competent jurisdiction.' In 1996, M moved with the children to New York. Beginning in July 1998, P.P., moved to F's home in Oklahoma. In November 1998, A.P. turned eighteen years of age. In April 1999, F filed documents to initiate a child custody proceeding in Oklahoma under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). The Oklahoma court awarded custody to F and retroactively relieved him of any child support obligation as of April 22, 1999, the date he moved for a change of custody. The court ordered M to pay child support to father in the amount of $338.50 per month, retroactive to April 22, including an arrearage of $2724.00. After P.P. returned to her custody. She did not appeal either the initial Oklahoma order or the denial of her motion for a new trial. In early July 2000, P.P. returned to live with mother in Georgia. F sought enforcement of the child support judgment for the time when P.P. had been in his custody. F was awarded judgment of $2369.50 for child support. The total arrearage became $5093.50. That amount was reduced in June 2001 by an involuntary payment of $1366.46 made by an administrative offset. Including the interest and principal, the total amount due through December 31, 2009, comes to $7611.30. The parties do not dispute this calculation. M resided in Vermont. F resides in Oklahoma. In 2008, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services sought to collect the outstanding child support from M. These enforcement efforts were transferred to Vermont, and, Vermont's Office of Child Support (OCS) filed a petition to register the Oklahoma support order in Vermont, pursuant to UIFSA. M filed a motion to set aside the Oklahoma order, contesting subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and notice. The magistrate issued an order registering the Oklahoma support order and granting judgment against mother in the amount of $7611.30. M appealed. The superior court affirmed, concluding that collateral estoppel barred M from challenging the Oklahoma court's subject matter jurisdiction, and Oklahoma had personal jurisdiction in light of M's physical presence and participation and that M had received adequate notice. M also filed to enforce a Georgia child support order to collect support owed by F under that order. M claimed $34,093.50. OCS intervened and moved to dismiss. On August 11, 2010, the magistrate granted OCS's motion and dismissed mother's petition, concluding that Vermont courts lacked personal jurisdiction over father under UIFSA. M appealed. The court consolidated both appeals by M (F's enforcement action and the refusal to enforce her action from the Georgia order.