In re Marriage of Hillstrom

• Decision Date: 03 November 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04CA0127.,04CA0127.
• Citation: 126 P.3d 315
• Parties: In re the Marriage of Robert D. HILLSTROM, Appellee, and Lisa A. HILLSTROM, Appellant.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

126 P.3d 315

In re the Marriage of Robert D. HILLSTROM, Appellee, and

Lisa A. HILLSTROM, Appellant.

No. 04CA0127.

Colorado Court of Appeals, Div. II.

November 3, 2005.

Chase Law, LLC, Sean A. Chase, Denver, Colorado, for Appellee.

Craig Franklin Chambers, Littleton, Colorado, for Appellant.

ROTHENBERG, J.

Lisa A. Hillstrom (mother) appeals from the district court's orders adopting a magistrate's ruling that granted the motion of Robert D. Hillstrom (father) to dismiss, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, mother's action seeking to docket a foreign decree pursuant to § 14-11-101, et seq., C.R.S.2005, and her motion to modify child support. The sole issue on appeal is whether Colorado has jurisdiction to modify a Nebraska child support order. Because we conclude it does not, we affirm.

I. Background

The salient facts are undisputed. The parties were married in Colorado in 1985, and one of their two children was conceived and born here. The parties later moved to Nebraska. In 1989, their marriage was dissolved there, at which time the parties entered into a property settlement agreement providing that father would pay child support to mother for the parties' two sons.

Mother later returned to Colorado with the children, and father moved to the state of Washington.

In February 2001, the parties filed a stipulation in the Nebraska court modifying father's child support obligation because the older son was residing with father.

In August 2001, after the older son had returned to Colorado to live with her, mother filed an action in the Colorado district court to docket the foreign decree pursuant to § 14-11-101, et seq., and a motion to modify parental responsibility, parenting time, and child support. A copy was sent to father, but he was not personally served. In 2003, mother filed another motion to modify child support, and father was personally served in the state of Washington.

Father moved to dismiss mother's action to docket the Nebraska decree under § 14-11-101, et seq., contending that (1) Nebraska has continuing exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over all child support matters, pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), § 14-5-101, et seq., C.R.S.2005; and (2) the requirements of UIFSA had not been met. See § 14-5-611(a)(1), C.R.S.2005.

Mother responded, contending that she initiated this action pursuant to § 14-11-101, et seq., not under UIFSA, and that the Colorado district court could modify child support as long as it had jurisdiction under § 14-11-101. She also relied on § 14-5-104, C.R.S.2005, which states that UIFSA is not the "exclusive method of establishing or enforcing a support order." Section 14-5-104(b)(1), C.R.S.2005.

The magistrate granted father's motion to dismiss, concluding that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the requirements of UIFSA had not been met, and that the state of Washington is the proper jurisdiction to address child support.

On review, the district court affirmed the magistrate's order, but applied a different analysis. The court concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction under § 14-11-101 to modify the Nebraska order because there was an "irreconcilable conflict between § 14-11-101 and 14-5-611 [of UIFSA]," and that § 14-5-611 was the more specific provision. Based on that analysis, the district court ruled that the more specific provision in § 14-5-611(a) of UIFSA is the exclusive authority for modifying such orders.

In reaching its conclusion that UIFSA provides the exclusive method of modifying a foreign support order, the district court relied on, among other things, § 14-5-104(b)(1), which provides that UIFSA is not the exclusive method of "establishing or enforcing" a support order. Based on this language, the district court concluded the converse was true and therefore UIFSA is the exclusive method of modifying a support order.

The district court reasoned as follows:

The Court finds that pursuant to C.R.S. § 14-5-104, C.R.S. § 14-11-101 can be construed as a basis for conferring subject matter jurisdiction in actions brought for the purpose of establishing or enforcing a foreign support order because the sections do not conflict in regard to establishing or enforcing such orders. The court finds, however, that there is an irreconcilable conflict between C.R.S. § 14-11-101 and C.R.S. § 14-5-611. Therefore, the more specific provision, § 14-5-611, must prevail in cases where a party seeks modification of a foreign support order.

(Emphasis in original.)

Mother appeals from the district court's ruling.

II. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Mother contends the district court erred in concluding it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to modify child support. She maintains that the court had jurisdiction to modify the Nebraska child support order because the requirements of UIFSA were met, as were the procedural and personal jurisdictional requirements of § 14-11-101, and that the district court erred in concluding there was an irreconcilable conflict between the remedies in UIFSA and in § 14-11-101. We disagree.

Subject matter jurisdiction concerns the authority of the court to decide a particular matter. In re Marriage of Haddad, 93 P.3d 617 (Colo.App.2004); In re Marriage of Ness, 759 P.2d 844 (Colo.App.1988).

A. Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act

On October 20, 1994, the U.S. Congress enacted the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1738B (Full Faith and Credit Act). The stated policy of the Full Faith and Credit Act is the need "to establish national standards under which the courts of the various States shall determine their jurisdiction to issue a child support order and the effect to be given by each State to child support orders issued by the courts of other States." Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act, Pub.L. No. 103-383, § 2(b), 108 Stat. 4063 (1994); see Harbour v. Harbour, 677 So.2d 700 (La.Ct.App.1996); In re Marriage of Mowrer, 817 P.2d 612, 614 (Colo.App.1991)("[Section 14-11-101] permits the modification of decrees of other states to the extent that such modifications do not offend the full faith and credit clause, and if the Colorado court has in personam jurisdiction over the litigants." (citation omitted)).

The purposes of the Full Faith and Credit Act are:

(1) to facilitate the enforcement of child support orders among the States;

(2) to discourage continuing interstate controversies over child support in the interest of greater financial stability and secure family relationships for the child; and

(3) to avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict among State courts in the establishment of child support orders.

Full Faith and Credit Act § 2(c).

The Full Faith and Credit Act compels a state court to "enforce according to its terms a child support order made consistently with this section by a court of another State" and forbids a state court from "seek[ing] or mak[ing] a modification of such an order except in accordance with [§ 1738B(e), (f), and (i) of the Act]." 28 U.S.C. § 1738B(a); see Harbour v. Harbour, supra.

Section 1738B(f)(1) of the Full Faith and Credit Act provides, as relevant here, "[i]f only one court has issued a child support order, the order of that court must be recognized." Section 1738B(i) provides:

Registration for modification.—If there is no individual contestant or child residing in the issuing State, the party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child support order issued in another State shall register that order in a State with jurisdiction over the nonmovant for the purpose of modification.

In enacting the Full Faith and Credit Act, Congress addressed the problem of multiple, and often inconsistent, child support orders, and intended to provide a consistent, nationwide scheme for the modification of child support orders. Cf. Middleton v. Hartman, 45 P.3d 721 (Colo.2002)(federal law preempts state law when Congress expresses a clear intent to preempt state law; when there is outright or actual conflict between federal and state law; when compliance with both federal and state law is physically impossible; when there is an implicit barrier within federal law to state regulation in a particular area; when federal legislation is so comprehensive as to occupy the entire field of regulation; or when state law stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full objectives of Congress).

B. UIFSA

UIFSA was drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to replace the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA) and Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (RURESA) in the states. Colorado enacted UIFSA, effective January 1, 1995, in accordance with Congress's requirement that all states adopt UIFSA by January 1, 1998. 42 U.S.C. § 666(f) (Supp.1996). See generally, Kurtis A. Kemper, Annotation, Construction and Application of Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, 90 A.L.R.5th 1 (2001).

Under RURESA, proceedings were de novo, at times resulting in more than one valid, co-existing order in a case. UIFSA allows for only one enforceable order in a case at any time. This is accomplished by limiting jurisdiction to modify the original order. See James C. Schumacher, The Colorado Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, 23 Colo. Law. 2535 (Nov.1994).

Section 14-5-205(c), C.R.S.2005, of UIFSA provides that a court of this state must recognize the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of a tribunal of another state that has issued a child support order pursuant to substantially similar law. However, under UIFSA, the issuing tribunal has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction only as long as one of the parties or the child continues to reside in the issuing state, or unless each party consents in writing to a court of another state assuming continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify the order....