Maryland Anne Arundel County Child Custody Dispute Writ Certiorari Jurisdiction Lawyers Attorneys
KATHIE M. GRUBER v. DAVID GRUBER
COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND
June 20, 2002.
Kathie M. Gruber, petitioner, and David Gruber, respondent, were married in Tennessee on November 23, 1998. They had one child, Katarina, who was born May 5, 1999. Ms. Gruber left the marital home with Katarina on March 18, 2000. On March 21, 2000, Ms. Gruber returned to Maryland, where she had lived before moving to Tennessee. On June 7, 2000, Ms. Gruber filed a complaint for custody and other appropriate relief in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. On October 11, she filed an amended complaint seeking both divorce and custody. In the amended complaint, Ms. Gruber contended that the Circuit Court should assume jurisdiction for the reasons stated in the first complaint and because Katarina had been living in Maryland for six months. On October 18, 2000, Mr. Gruber filed a complaint for divorce and sole custody of Katarina in the Circuit Court of Tennessee for the 30th Judicial Division at Memphis. The same day, the Clerk of the Tennessee court issued ex parte custody order until further hearing." Despite the order issued by the Tennessee court, on November 2, 2000, Mr. and Ms. Gruber appeared in the Circuit for Anne Arundel County for an emergency hearing on custody of Katarina. On November 6, 2000, Mr. Gruber filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, change of venue. On November 8, Mr. Gruber filed a motion to revoke his consent and for immediate hearing regarding jurisdiction. Later, a Maryland trial court ruled it had jurisdiction to determine the custody of the parties' minor child. In appeal, the appellate court held the trial court erred in assuming jurisdiction without first considering the father's argument that the trial court should have declined to exercise jurisdiction because the mother engaged in reprehensible conduct. Petitioner mother filed a petition for writ of certiorari requesting review of the decision of the Court of Special Appeals.
Whether, by suggesting that 'only in the most extraordinary circumstances' should a parent that has purportedly engaged in 'reprehensible conduct' be allowed to obtain relief from a Maryland court, the Court of Special Appeals has improperly deprived the Circuit Court of the discretion to exercise jurisdiction over a custody dispute as permitted under 9-208?
This Court has often stated that, except as constitutionally authorized, appellate jurisdiction "is determined entirely by statute, and that, therefore, a right of appeal must be legislatively granted. Where appellate jurisdiction is lacking, the appellate court will dismiss the appeal on its own motion. A trial court's decision to deny a challenge to its jurisdiction does not settle or conclude the rights of any party or deny the party the means of proceeding further. Therefore, the Circuit Court's denial of Mr. Gruber's challenge to the court's jurisdiction did not deprive Mr. Gruber of the care and custody of his child or change the terms of such an order, and, as such, the Circuit Court's decision does not constitute an appealable interlocutory order under 12-303(3)(x). This Court held that a trial court's order denying a challenge to its jurisdiction is a nonappealable interlocutory order. A trial court's denial of a challenge to its jurisdiction does not settle or conclude the rights of any party. Therefore, the Circuit Court's assumption of jurisdiction did not deprive Mr. Gruber of the care and custody of his child or change the terms of such an order. Accordingly, no appeal lies. The appeal was premature and it should have been dismissed by the Court of Special Appeals.
The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the appellate court and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss the appeal.
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Maryland Anne Arundel County Child Custody Dispute Writ Certiorari Jurisdiction Lawyers Attorneys
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