Parental Relocation Appeal Sent Back to Lower Court When Not All Issues Decided
- At August 29, 2019
- By Miles Mason
- In Relocation
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Tennessee child custody case summary on parental relocation.
Eddie J. Smith, Jr., v. Theresa Y. Peoples
After the mother relocated from Tennessee to Florida with the minor child, the father brought a petition in Montgomery County, Tennessee, in which he alleged that the mother had blatantly violated both the permanent parenting plan and the Tennessee parental relocation statute. He requested that the parenting plan be modified, and that the mother be held in criminal contempt. In April 2018, Judge Ted A. Crozier, Jr., held a hearing and made an order modifying the permanent parenting plan. However, Judge Crozier did not rule one way or another on the contempt motion.
Acting without an attorney, the father then brought an appeal to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. That appeal was heard by Judges Charles D. Susano, Jr., Andy Bennett, and Chief Judge D. Michael Swiney.
In a short opinion, the appeals court first noted that, as in any appeal, the first task was to determine whether or not the court has subject matter jurisdiction. It cited earlier cases to the effect that only a final judgment can be appealed, and that an order that doesn’t adjudicate all of the issues in the case is not final.
In this case, the trial court had decided the issue involving the parenting plan. However, it never addressed the issue of contempt. For that reason, the Court of Appeals held that it did not have subject matter jurisdiction of the appeal.
For that reason, the appeals court sent the case back to Montgomery County. It did, however, tax the costs of the appeal to the mother.
No. M2018-00910-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 28, 2019).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Tennessee Parent Relocation Statute Law.
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
