Narrative Opinion Summary
This appellate case from the Court of Appeals of Tennessee involves a dispute over the transfer of a child support enforcement case. Following a contempt petition filed by the father in Dyer County, where he and the child resided, the mother, who had moved to Kentucky, sought to transfer the case from Crockett County to Dyer County. The trial court denied the transfer, but the appellate court reversed this decision, emphasizing the mandatory nature of the transfer under Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-5-3003 when the child and both parents reside outside the original county for over six months. The court affirmed that any party, irrespective of residency, could request such a transfer, and the mother's previous participation in the original jurisdiction did not waive her statutory rights to request a venue change. The appellate court also addressed procedural issues, noting that constitutional challenges to statutes must be raised at the trial level to be considered on appeal. The court ordered the case to be transferred to Dyer County and assigned costs to the father, thereby remanding the case for further proceedings consistent with its findings.
Legal Issues Addressed
Constitutional Challenge in Appellate Reviewsubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The appellate court declined to address a constitutional challenge to the transfer statutes since the issue was not raised at the trial level and did not meet the threshold for evident unconstitutionality.
Reasoning: Established precedent dictates that issues not raised at the trial level typically cannot be considered on appeal unless the statute is evidently unconstitutional.
Jurisdiction for Child Support Case Transfersubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The appellate court determined that a transfer of a child support case is mandatory if neither parent nor the child resides in the original issuing county and the child has lived in the transferee county for at least six months.
Reasoning: A case must be transferred by the clerk of the issuing court to a court of competent jurisdiction in the county where the child resides if both conditions are met: neither the child, custodial parent, nor non-custodial parent resides in the issuing county, and the child has lived in the transferee county for at least six months.
Standing to Request Case Transfersubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The appellate court held that any party, not limited to Tennessee residents or custodial parents, has standing to request the transfer of a child support case under the applicable statute, even if the party resides outside the state.
Reasoning: The statute allows any party, not just the custodial parent or Tennessee residents, to request a transfer, meaning the trial court erred in concluding that the mother lacked standing to request the transfer to Dyer County.
Waiver of Venue Rightssubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The appellate court ruled that prior waiver of venue rights does not preclude a party from requesting a mandatory transfer under the statute when conditions for transfer are met.
Reasoning: Mother did not waive her right to request a transfer under the statute by submitting to the jurisdiction of the Crockett County Chancery Court during the 2002 divorce proceedings.