Spies v. Carpenter
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Husband James Spies and Wife Cynthia Carpenter were married in California in 2000. They had two minor children, both of whom were born in that state. Husband was a movie and television producer and consultant. The family moved to Tennessee for a film project in 2006, and then
to the metropolitan Atlanta area in 2011. The parties separated in 2013. Wife returned to California with the children and enrolled them in school. In the meantime, husband relocated to Virginia for another film project. On October 17, 2013, wife filed suit in Superior Court of California for
legal separation from husband, and he was personally served in Virginia. Thereafter, the California court entered an order temporarily awarding wife sole custody of the children. That same day, husband filed a petition for divorce in Fulton County Superior Court, in which he requested, among other things, primary child custody. Wife entered a special appearance and moved to dismiss husband’s petition on the ground that, inter alia, the trial court was an inconvenient forum under OCGA 19-9-67 of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”). After consulting with the California court pursuant to the UCCJEA, the Fulton County trial court granted wife’s motion and dismissed husband’s entire case on the basis of forum non-conveniens. The Georgia Supreme Court granted husband’s application for a discretionary appeal and posed this question: "did the trial court err in dismissing husband’s entire divorce petition under OCGA 19-9-67 (a), instead of dismissing only the child custody portion of the case?" The Georgia Court answered this question affirmatively.
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