Francisco v. Gonzalez, 301 Neb. 1045

Background

Plaintiff Eulalia Francisco sued Sergio De Leon Gonzalez seeking paternity and sole physical and legal custody of two children (born 2010 and 2016).
Eulalia obtained court permission to serve Sergio by publication and published notice in a Douglas County legal newspaper.
Eulalia filed an affidavit with her motion stating she had not had contact with Sergio for nearly 2 years and did not know how to locate him; she did not mail the published notice to Sergio’s last known address.
After Sergio did not appear, the district court entered orders declaring paternity and awarding custody, but declined to make certain findings needed for special immigrant juvenile status.
On motion to alter or amend, the district court vacated its paternity/custody order for the older child (filed outside the statutory period) and found Eulalia had failed to comply with Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-520.01 for service by publication, concluding it lacked personal jurisdiction.
The Nebraska Supreme Court reviewed whether § 25-520.01 was complied with and whether the district court’s orders were void for lack of personal jurisdiction; it vacated the orders as void and dismissed the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether service by publication complied with § 25-520.01	Eulalia argued her prepublication affidavit showing inability to locate Sergio satisfied statutory requirements and no mailing was required	Sergio (via the court) asserted Eulalia failed to mail notice to his last known address and failed to file the required postpublication affidavit showing diligent inquiry	Court held Eulalia did not comply with § 25-520.01: she failed to mail to last known address and her affidavit did not show diligent investigation by her and her attorney
Whether the district court had personal jurisdiction over Sergio	Eulalia contended jurisdiction existed by constructive service/publication authorized by the court	Court determined lack of statutory compliance meant constructive service was improper, so no personal jurisdiction	Court held lack of compliance rendered service ineffective and deprived district court of personal jurisdiction
Whether orders entered without personal jurisdiction are valid	Eulalia sought to preserve earlier orders (paternity/custody as to younger child) despite jurisdictional defect	Court emphasized legal principle that lack of personal jurisdiction voids orders and they cannot confer appellate jurisdiction	Court held orders entered without personal jurisdiction are void and must be vacated
Proper appellate disposition when lower court lacked jurisdiction	Eulalia argued appellate review on merits; sought requested findings re: children remaining in U.S.	Court noted it may determine its own jurisdiction, vacate void orders, and remand if needed	Court vacated district court’s orders as void and dismissed appeal for lack of jurisdiction

Key Cases Cited

Mullane v. Central Hanover Tr. Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950) (publication alone often insufficient to provide due-process notice)
Johnson v. Johnson, 282 Neb. 42 (2011) (judgment entered without personal jurisdiction is void)
In re Guardianship of Carlos D., 300 Neb. 646 (2018) (discussing findings relevant to special immigrant juvenile status)
In re Interest of Trey H., 281 Neb. 760 (2011) (appellate court can vacate void orders and determine jurisdiction)
Farmers Co-op. Mercantile Co. v. Sidner, 175 Neb. 94 (1963) (service by publication without statutory compliance fails to confer jurisdiction)
In re Adoption of Leslie P., 8 Neb. App. 954 (2000) (interpreting requirement to mail to last known address under § 25-520.01)
In re Interest of A.W., 224 Neb. 764 (1987) (delineating contours of a reasonably diligent search)