AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• Dawn Brudevold filed a petition in New Mexico to establish parentage and sought custody of the parties' daughter. Previously, an Ohio court had awarded custody of the daughter to Doug Fulton. Brudevold challenged the Ohio custody order in New Mexico, arguing issues around due process and jurisdiction, particularly under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), and raised concerns about domestic violence and the convenience of the forum for the custody case.

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Petitioner-Appellant: Argued that the Ohio custody order violated her due process rights due to insufficient notice and that the New Mexico court should have jurisdiction to establish parentage and custody, considering domestic violence and the convenience of the forum.
• Respondent-Appellee: [Not applicable or not found]

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court erred in giving full force and effect to the Ohio custody order.
• Whether the district court erred in declining to exercise jurisdiction over the petition to establish parentage under the UCCJEA.
• Whether circumstances of domestic violence invalidate an out-of-state custody order pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 40-10A-208 (2001).
• Whether the district court erred in refusing to allow the submission of evidence regarding inconvenient forum before ruling it did not have jurisdiction.

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals of New Mexico affirmed the district court's order declining to exercise jurisdiction over Brudevold’s petition and giving full force and effect to the Ohio judgment awarding custody to Fulton.

Reasons

• Per LINDA M. VANZI, J. (JAMES J. WECHSLER, J., and RODERICK T. KENNEDY, J., concurring):
  The court concluded that the district court did not err in its decisions because:
  Brudevold was provided with notice and an opportunity to be heard, fulfilling due process requirements despite her claims of insufficient notice [CN 2-3].
  The Ohio court had already exercised jurisdiction in a manner substantially conforming with the UCCJEA, making the New Mexico court's refusal to exercise jurisdiction appropriate [CN 3-6].
  Circumstances of domestic violence do not invalidate an out-of-state custody order under NMSA 1978, Section 40-10A-208 (2001), and thus do not affect the jurisdictional decision [CN 6-7].
  The argument regarding the submission of evidence on the inconvenient forum issue was dismissed because Brudevold did not demonstrate any legal error in the court's proposed analysis, and she had not requested the Ohio court to relinquish jurisdiction in favor of New Mexico [MIO 4-5; CN 4].
  The court relied on existing legal standards and precedents, including the UCCJEA and New Mexico statutes, to affirm the district court's decisions. Brudevold's arguments were considered but ultimately found unavailing in changing the proposed disposition of the case.