Ex Parte Caroline M. Siderius (in Re Kenneth v. Fordham v. Caroline M. Siderius)

Summary

The court granted Siderius’s petition for a writ of mandamus and directed dismissal of Fordham’s Alabama child-custody proceeding. It held that Washington was the children’s home state under the UCCJEA because their absences for visitation were temporary and, alternatively, because Washington’s home-state jurisdiction extended for six months after their removal while Siderius remained there. The court further held that personal jurisdiction over Siderius did not establish Alabama’s subject-matter jurisdiction over the custody proceeding.