IL Court Had Jurisdiction Over Divorce, Even Though Husband In TN

Tennessee child custody case summary on jurisdiction in divorce.

IL Court Had Jurisdiction Over Divorce, Even Though Husband Was In TN

Libertad Claborn v. Bobby L. Claborn

The husband and wife in this case were married in 1990 and resided in Tennessee.  In 2011, the wife left Tennessee for Illinois, claiming that she needed safety from her husband.  She obtained an order for protection in Lake County, Illinois, and filed for divorce there.  The husband was personally served, but did not file any answer in the Illinois case.  The Illinois court granted a default judgment of divorce, which included a provision regarding the sale of the parties’ home in Tennessee.  He was also ordered to pay child support.

The husband remained in the home and refused to cooperate with selling it.  The wife hired a Tennessee attorney, who filed a copy of the Illinois judgment.  The husband then argued that the Illinois court had lacked jurisdiction and that the judgment should not be honored for that reason.  The Tennessee court disagreed and held that the Illinois judgment was valid.  The husband was once again ordered to list the property for sale.  He then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, renewing his argument that the Illinois court lacked jurisdiction.

The husband first argued that an Illinois court had no jurisdiction over the disposition of land in another state.  The appeals court agreed in the abstract, but also pointed out that a party can be compelled to transfer property in another state under penalties of contempt, which is what the Illinois court had done.

The court had personal jurisdiction since the wife lived in Illinois, and the husband had at one point made an appearance at which he did not contest lack of personal jurisdiction.  For this reason, the Court of Appeals held that the Illinois court had properly exercised jurisdiction in the case.

The Illinois court had also ordered support for an adult child with special needs, and the husband argued that this was contrary to Tennessee law.  But the appeals court pointed out that any arguments about policy should have been made in the Illinois court, which the husband failed to do.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the lower court and assessed the costs of the appeal against the husband.

No. E2014-01683-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 29, 2015).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Custody Laws in Tennessee.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring actual examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.