Dave v. Dave, 2016 Ohio 5185

Parties married in India in 2013, lived briefly in Ohio and Texas; child born in Texas in 2014 and later returned to Ohio.
Appellee (Deepan Dave) filed for divorce in Portage County, Ohio in April 2015.
Appellant (Sejal Dave) filed a special-appearance motion (July 1, 2015) seeking dismissal for lack of jurisdiction over parental rights, in personam, and in rem jurisdiction; she later supplemented that motion.
Texas courts declined jurisdiction and ceded jurisdiction to Portage County via UCCJEA action; appellant filed actions in India.
Portage County issued three entries in March 2016: (1) acknowledging Texas ceded jurisdiction; (2) denying appellant’s motion to dismiss; (3) ordering appellant to return with the child, deposit passports with the clerk, permit daily contact for appellee, and appear for further hearing.
Appellant appealed those entries; appellee moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of a final appealable order. The appellate court ordered briefing and then dismissed the appeal for lack of a final order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the appealed March 2016 entries are final appealable orders	Appellee argued the entries are not final; appeal should be dismissed	Appellant argued entries were final because they were in a special proceeding and affected substantial rights	Court held entries were not final appealable orders and dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction
Whether denial of motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is immediately appealable	N/A (appellee sought dismissal of appeal)	Appellant contended denial affected substantial right in a special proceeding (divorce)	Court held denial of motion to dismiss did not affect a substantial right and is not immediately appealable
Whether Ohio trial court’s jurisdictional rulings (including UCCJEA-related orders) foreclose future relief	Appellee implicitly argued future appeal on final judgment remains available	Appellant argued jurisdictional rulings (and custody-related orders) foreclose relief if not immediately reviewable	Court determined underlying jurisdictional claims remain reviewable after final judgment, so immediate appeal not warranted
Whether orders compelling return of child and passport deposit created an appealable substantial right	N/A	Appellant argued the orders materially affected parental and travel rights and thus were final	Court treated these as interlocutory within the divorce special proceeding and concluded they did not create a final, appealable right

Noble v. Colwell, 44 Ohio St.3d 92 (1989) (explains requirement that appellate review be limited to final orders)
Gen. Acc. Ins. Co. v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 44 Ohio St.3d 17 (1989) (holds appellate court lacks jurisdiction where trial court order is not final)