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NEW YORK DID NOT HAVE SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER A CUSTODY MATTER BECAUSE THE CHILD HAD NOT LIVED IN NEW YORK FOR SIX MONTHS AT THE TIME THE PROCEEDINGS WERE COMMENCED, NEW JERSEY STILL HAD JURISDICTION AT THAT TIME BECAUSE THE CHILD HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM NEW JERSEY LESS THAN SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE NEW YORK PROCEEDINGS WERE COMMENCED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice NeMoyer, reversing Family Court, determined that New York did not have subject matter jurisdiction over a child custody proceeding. At the time the proceeding was brought the child had not lived in New York for six months and New Jersey still had jurisdiction. The Fourth Department went through the history of jurisdictional issues in custody matters and through each of the grounds for jurisdiction codified in the Domestic Relations Law:

Instead of claiming home state jurisdiction under Domestic Relations Law § 76 (1) (a), the mother essentially argues that the court had subject matter jurisdiction over this proceeding under the safety net provision of section 76 (1) (d), which confers jurisdiction to make custody determinations when, insofar as relevant here, “no court of any other state would have jurisdiction under the criteria specified in [section 76 (1)] (a).” …

We reject the mother’s reliance on section 76 (1) (d). Under the special UCCJEA [Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act] definition of “home state” applicable to infants under six months old (Domestic Relations Law § 75-a [7]; NJ Stat Ann § 2A:34-54), New Jersey was the child’s “home state” between the date of his birth (February 18, 2015) and the alleged date of his move to New York (July 15, 2015) … . Because the UCCJEA confers continuing jurisdiction on the state that “was the home state of the child within six months before the commencement of the proceeding” if a parent lives in that state without the child (Domestic Relations Law § 76 [1] [a]; NJ Stat Ann § 2A:34-65 [a] [1]), it follows that New Jersey retained continuing jurisdiction of this matter until January 15, 2016, i.e., six months after the child’s alleged move to New York on July 15, 2015 and one week after the instant proceeding was commenced on January 8, 2016 … . Thus, New York lacked jurisdiction under section 76 (1) (d) because New Jersey could have exercised jurisdiction under the criteria of section 76 (1) (a) on the date of this proceeding’s commencement … . Matter of Nemes v Tutino, 2019 NY Slip Op 03236, Fourth Dept 4-26-19

 

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