Catawba County ex rel. Rackley v. Loggins
Annotate this Case
A district court has jurisdiction to modify a child support order without a party filing a motion to modify asserting that there is a change in circumstances.
Catawba County, by and through its Child Support Agency, ex rel. Shawna Rackley (Plaintiff) failed to file a motion to modify a child support order. The district court concluded that a motion to modify a child support obligation must precede a modification order. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that the district court did not have jurisdiction because Plaintiff failed to comply with the procedural mandates of N.C. Gen. Stat. 50-13.7(a). The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Plaintiff’s failure to file a motion to modify Defendant’s child support obligation did not divest the district court of jurisdiction to modify the child support order under section 50-13.7(a).
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.