Jesse B. v. Dcs, C.B., 1 CA-JV 16-0188

Child C.B. born in Michigan in Feb. 2011; parents (Father Jesse B. and Mother) lived in Michigan at least through June 2013.
Michigan court issued a February 2013 custody order awarding joint custody and restricting removal of C.B.’s domicile from Michigan without court approval; Father remained in Michigan and later obtained enforcement orders against Mother for relocating with C.B. to Arizona.
Mother moved with C.B. to Arizona; DCS filed a dependency petition in Arizona in April 2015, and C.B. was placed with maternal grandmother; DCS later moved to terminate Father’s parental rights.
Arizona superior court conducted a trial and terminated Father’s parental rights; Father appealed.
The parties did not address the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) below; the Court of Appeals ordered supplemental briefing and examined whether Michigan—having issued the earlier custody order—retained exclusive, continuing jurisdiction under the UCCJEA.
The Court of Appeals concluded the record lacked any Michigan determination relinquishing jurisdiction or finding it an inconvenient forum and remanded so the superior court can resolve whether Arizona or Michigan is the proper forum for severance proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Arizona had jurisdiction under the UCCJEA to terminate Father’s parental rights despite a prior Michigan custody order	Father: Michigan was the child’s home state when it issued the initial custody order and retained continuing exclusive jurisdiction; Arizona lacked authority to modify that order	DCS: Arizona had jurisdiction because C.B. had lived in Arizona for at least six months before the dependency petition and Arizona statutes grant original jurisdiction over termination when the child is present	Court: Remanded—record does not show Michigan relinquished jurisdiction or was an inconvenient forum; superior court must determine whether statutory prerequisites for Arizona to proceed are met
Appropriate remedy for unresolved UCCJEA jurisdictional defect	Father: Vacate the termination order	DCS: Request stay or remand for jurisdictional determination	Court: Remand for the superior court to address jurisdiction, following guidance in Angel B. v. Vanessa J.

Angel B. v. Vanessa J., 234 Ariz. 69 (App. 2014) (UCCJEA issues can require remand when record lacks determination that the issuing state relinquished exclusive, continuing jurisdiction)