State ex rel. Three Irons v. Three Irons, 80-108
| Citation | 190 Mont. 360,621 P.2d 476,37 St.Rep. 2016 |
| Decision Date | 19 December 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-108,80-108 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana ex rel., Earlene THREE IRONS, Petitioner and Respondent, v. Dean Curtiss THREE IRONS, Respondent and Appellant. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Montana |
D. Michael Eakin, Montana Legal Services, argued, Hardin, Steve Bunch, argued, Montana Legal Services, Helena, for respondent and appellant.
Mike Greely, Atty. Gen., Helena, James Seykora, County Atty., Hardin, Deirdra Boggs, argued, Missoula, for petitioner and respondent.
Michael G. Garrity, Dept. of Revenue, Helena, Lynaugh, Fitzgerald, Schoppert & Skaggs, Billings, for amicus curiae.
This is an appeal from an order entered by the Big Horn District Court under Montana's Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, section 40-5-101 et seq., MCA, directing the appellant, Dean Curtiss Three Irons to make child support payments. Because the District Court did not have personal jurisdiction over Three Irons or subject matter jurisdiction over the transaction, we reverse.
Dean Curtiss Three Irons is an enrolled member of the Crow Indian Tribe and lives on the Crow Reservation. He is married to but separated from Earlene Three Irons, a Shoshone Indian from the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. They have two children, Tanya J. and Dean, Jr. The Three Irons were married September 16, 1974, in Denver, Colorado. During their marriage, they resided there and on the Crow Reservation. Earlene Three Irons has resided in Denver with the children since her separation from her husband in 1975.
In November 1975, while a resident of Colorado, Earlene Three Irons filed a petition under Colorado's URESA which was forwarded to Montana for enforcement proceedings. The Big Horn County District Court issued an order to show cause. Dean Three Irons was served with copies of the order and the petition within the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation. Appearing specially through counsel, Three Irons moved the District Court to dismiss for lack of personal and subject matter jurisdiction. The lower court denied the motion and ordered Three Irons to pay child support.
On appeal, the primary issues are whether the state court has personal and subject matter jurisdiction. These issues are dispositive of the appeal and we need not consider the other issues presented for review.
This appeal is governed by our holding in State ex rel. Flammond v. Flammond, Mont., 621 P.2d 471 (1980). All of the...
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State ex rel. Joseph v. Redwing
...For supporting authority that the state has no jurisdiction and it continues to belong to the tribe, see State ex rel. Three Irons v. Three Irons, 621 P.2d 476 (Mont.1980), and State ex rel. Flammond v. Flammond, 621 P.2d 471 (Mont.1980). 4 The Supreme Court of Montana dismissed Uniform Rec......
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...are no established off-reservation acts. See Flammond v. Flammond (1980), 190 Mont. 350, 621 P.2d 471; State ex rel. Three Irons v. Three Irons (1980), 190 Mont. 360, 621 P.2d 476. Here, however, we are presented with a case of first impression, as this is a child support enforcement action......
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