Hobbs v. Vaughan, 2015 Ark. App. 318

Parties divorced in 2004; Hobbs awarded custody of minor child M.V.; Vaughan awarded visitation and ordered to pay child support.
Hobbs remarried and sought to relocate with M.V. to Tennessee after her husband’s job promotion; she filed a petition to modify visitation to allow relocation (May 8, 2014).
Vaughan filed a response opposing relocation and later filed for contempt and modification of custody, alleging Hobbs interfered with visitation and that relocation would harm his relationship with M.V.
Trial court (Aug. 21, 2014) denied Hobbs’s relocation request, found Hobbs in contempt (seven days jail), and awarded Vaughan $3,000 in attorney’s fees; custody modification was set for a later final hearing.
Hobbs appealed the denial of relocation and the attorney-fee award (she did not appeal the contempt finding).
Arkansas Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal without prejudice for lack of a final, appealable order because custody remained pending.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denial of Hobbs’s relocation petition is appealable now	Hobbs: trial court erred in denying relocation; order should be appealable	Vaughan: relocation denial can be reviewed later after final order; custody remains pending	Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because order was not final; custody issue reserved for later final hearing
Whether award of $3,000 in attorney’s fees is appealable now	Hobbs: trial court abused discretion in awarding fees	Vaughan: fees awarded in connection with his petitions and are proper	Attorney-fee issue is collateral and not reviewable absent a final order; dismissal still required

Dodge v. Lee, 350 Ark. 480, 88 S.W.3d 843 (Ark. 2002) (an appeal cannot be entertained on collateral issues like attorney’s fees when no final order exists)