Wallace v. Wallace, No. 12-3912 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseCollateral to an ongoing divorce proceeding in Missouri state court, husband filed an identity theft tort claim in federal court under Mo. Rev. Stat. 570.223 against his wife. The district court dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the domestic relations exception to federal jurisdiction. Because the remedies requested here effectively would nullify part of the divorce court's judgment based on the same conduct, the two cases were "inextricably intertwined" within the meaning of Kahn v. Kahn. Accordingly, the domestic relations exception precluded subject matter jurisdiction over the case and the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Civil Case - diversity. District court did not err in dismissing identity theft tort claim in federal court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the domestic relations exception to federal jurisdiction brought by husband against his wife during pending state divorce proceedings, as the federal suit was inextricably intertwined with the state domestic proceeding. The federal suit would undermine the judgment of the state court and could effectively nullify part of the divorce court's judgment based on the same conduct.
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