David L. v. Superior Court of San Diego Cnty., D073996

Decision Date26 November 2018
Docket NumberD073996
Citation29 Cal.App.5th 359,240 Cal.Rptr.3d 462
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
Parties DAVID L., Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT of San Diego County, Respondent; Mariana C., Real Party in Interest.

Dennis Geis Temko, San Diego, for Petitioner.

No appearance for Respondent.

DATO, J.

Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Maria Maranion Kraus, and Ali Puente-Douglass for Real Party in Interest.

Consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, may California exercise specific personal jurisdiction over a nonresident in a paternity action where the mother and young child live in California and conception occurred in another state? Mariana L. initiated a paternity and child support action in San Diego County against David L., a Connecticut resident.1 The trial court denied David's motion to quash service, and he seeks writ review.

On the particular facts presented, we answer the question in the negative and issue a writ of mandate to prevent the exercise of jurisdiction. David's knowledge that Mariana resided in California and the foreseeability of California effects (a child) from their out-of-state sexual intercourse are insufficient to establish the requisite minimum contacts. ( Walden v. Fiore (2014) 571 U.S. 277, 289, 134 S.Ct. 1115, 188 L.Ed.2d 12 ( Walden ).) Specific jurisdiction must rest on David's own suit-related contacts with California , not merely a plaintiff who lives here. ( Id. at pp. 288-289, 134 S.Ct. 1115.) Those contacts must create a "substantial connection" with this state for jurisdiction to lie. ( Id. at p. 284, 134 S.Ct. 1115.) Recognizing that the inquiry is fact-specific, on the record before us the Walden standard was not met. California thus cannot exercise personal jurisdiction over David in this paternity and child support action.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In September 2017, Mariana filed a petition in San Diego County to establish parentage and seek child support, naming David as her one-month-old daughter's father. The petition claimed the court had jurisdiction over David because Mariana and her daughter lived in California. It attached an affidavit signed by Mariana's husband at the time, who denied paternity. Mariana served the petition and summons on David by certified mail to his address in Connecticut.

David made a special appearance to contest jurisdiction, filing a motion to quash the service of summons under section 418.10 of the Code of Civil Procedure. In an attached declaration, David stated he had never lived in California or owned property, paid taxes, registered to vote, opened a bank account, or had a driver's license here. If the child was his, it was conceived outside California. His actions did not force Mariana to move to California; she already lived and intended to remain there when they met in Nebraska nine months before her daughter's birth. Although David made a few visits to California relating to his work as a concert promoter, he was "never in California except for business," and Mariana's action had nothing to do with his business activities.

Mariana opposed the motion, noting David had made both personal and work-related trips to California "numerous times." Her declaration explained that they had an on-and-off intimate relationship spanning 17 years. They met in 2001 and were intimate until 2009 in "various hotels in California as well as other states"; in 2003, Mariana got pregnant and suffered a miscarriage. Mariana knew David was married, but she thought he did not love his wife. She stopped seeing David in 2009 after learning that he and his wife had a nine-year-old daughter.

Time passed. Mariana got married but resumed communicating with David in 2013 because her marriage was struggling and David stated he had gotten divorced. They spoke by text message and phone until meeting casually in Las Vegas in 2015. In April 2016 and August 2016, David made two business trips to California during which he saw and spent the night with Mariana. She visited David in November 2016 in Omaha, Nebraska during another of David's business trips. It was there that she conceived her daughter. Although Mariana was married at the time, she had not been intimate with her husband, and he signed an affidavit of nonpaternity.

As Mariana explained in her declaration, David knew she was a California resident and would raise any child resulting from their relationship in California. Mariana lived in California throughout her pregnancy, gave birth in this state, and presently resides with her daughter in San Diego County. Because she does not work outside the home, it would pose financial hardship to travel to Connecticut to establish paternity and child support.

Mariana submitted a string of text messages that she exchanged with David from April to November 2016. Consistent with her declaration, the messages indicated that she met David in Palm Desert in April 2016 and in Anaheim in August 2016 during David's business trips to the state. Text messages also corroborated Mariana's visit to see David in Nebraska in November 2016. Two weeks after that visit Mariana announced she was pregnant and that David was the father. She explained she did not expect David to parent the child but would be seeking child support in California. Their last communication was in January 2017, when David told her to communicate through attorneys going forward.

David filed a motion to strike objecting to portions of Mariana's declaration. He objected on relevance grounds to: (1) Mariana's discussion of how they met in 2001 and the "on-off" nature of their 17-year relationship; (2) Mariana's 2003 miscarriage and prior sexual acts in California that did not result in pregnancy; and (3) Mariana's claim that her husband knew he was not the father and was not obligated to provide support. David reiterated in his reply brief that he lacked sufficient contacts with California, explaining his sporadic business trips were "completely unrelated to this paternity case."

At the hearing on David's motion, the court overruled David's objections and accepted both parties' declarations into evidence. It explained that the 2003 miscarriage was relevant to show "there was a period of time where sexual intercourse was occurring in the state of California resulting in a conception even though the child was not carried to term."2 This showed "continuing contacts or sufficient contacts with the state on a related issue" enabling the court to exercise jurisdiction under the broad catchall provision in Family Code section 5700.201, subdivision (a)(8).3 It continued the matter to decide whether the Family Code section 7540 presumption applied and whether David would be ordered to take a paternity test, indicating Mariana's husband was a necessary party. The court signed a Findings and Order after Hearing consistent with its oral ruling, stating in relevant part:

"The Court finds that it has personal jurisdiction over [David] in that there was a period of time where sexual intercourse was occurring in the state of California resulting in a conception even though the child was not carried to term, and this is sufficiently related and tied to the issue here that California does, and [David] does, have sufficient continuing contacts or sufficient contacts with the state of California that are relevant to the litigation at issue for this Court to exercise jurisdiction over him."

David seeks writ relief from the trial court's decision denying his motion to quash. In May 2018, we issued an alternative writ and stayed proceedings in the trial court.

DISCUSSION

David argues California lacks personal jurisdiction over him and therefore cannot adjudicate Mariana's paternity and child support claims. The trial court relied heavily on Mariana's 2003 conception and miscarriage to find "sufficient contacts with the state on a related issue" to establish personal jurisdiction. But as we explain, we conclude personal jurisdiction is lacking under Walden, supra, 571 U.S. 277, 134 S.Ct. 1115.

A

"In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order or determine parentage of a child," section 5700.201 identifies seven statutory bases for personal jurisdiction over a nonresident. One of those bases applies when a child is conceived in this state ( § 5700.201, subd. (a)(6) ), but the parties agree that Mariana's daughter was not conceived in California. In addition to the seven statutory options, section 5700.201 includes a catchall provision, recognizing "any other basis consistent with the constitutions of this state and the United States for the exercise of personal jurisdiction." ( § 5700.201, subd. (a)(8).)4 The parties agree that this catchall is the only potential statutory basis for the family court to assert personal jurisdiction over David. Accordingly, our inquiry turns on the constitutional limits for personal jurisdiction.

The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause "constrains a State's authority to bind a nonresident defendant to a judgment of its court." ( Walden , supra , 571 U.S. at p. 283, 134 S.Ct. 1115.) These limits to a state's adjudicative power "principally protect the liberty of the nonresident defendant—not the convenience of plaintiffs or third parties." ( Id. at p. 284, 134 S.Ct. 1115.) A nonresident defendant must have "certain minimum contacts with [the forum] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’ " ( International Shoe Co. v. Washington (1945) 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 ( International Shoe ).)

"Personal jurisdiction may be either general or specific." ( Vons , supra , 14 Cal.4th at p. 445, 58 Cal.Rptr.2d 899, 926 P.2d 1085.) General jurisdiction "permits a court to assert jurisdiction over a defendant based on a forum connection unrelated to the underlying suit (e.g ., domicile)." ( Walden , supra , 571 U.S. at...

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