Bonar v. Bonar
Bonar v. Bonar
Opinion of the Court
David Bonar appeals from an order of the Superior Court of Stewart County, Georgia, modifying his visitation rights. He contends that the Georgia court lacked jurisdiction to modify the decree entered by the Louisiana court. We agree and reverse the judgment of the trial court.
Kimberly Bonar filed for divorce from David Bonar in Louisiana on July 30, 1997. On August 18, 1997, the trial court entered a consent judgment, which provided that the parties’ two minor children would live primarily with Kimberly Bonar in Georgia, and set out a schedule by which they would visit David Bonar. The final judgment of divorce was entered in March 1998.
On August 5, 1998, the court ruled on a motion for contempt and to specify conditions of visitation filed by David Bonar. In the order, the trial court specified a visitation schedule and expressly provided that “[t]he [Louisiana] Court retains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the case under the provisions of La. R.S. 13:355.17, to enforce the terms of custody and visitation and to resolve any future disputes.”
In January 2000, Kimberly Bonar filed another petition to modify visitation in Stewart County, Georgia. Again, David Bonar challenged jurisdiction. After determining that it had jurisdiction over the case, the Georgia court granted Kimberly Bonar’s petition to modify visitation. We granted David Bonar’s application for discretionary appeal.
1. The federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (“PKPA”)
Under the PKPA, a court of one state can modify the child custody order of another state’s court only if: (1) it has jurisdiction to make such a child custody determination; and (2) the court of the other state no longer has jurisdiction or has declined to exercise its jurisdiction.
The first part of the test is satisfied. The Georgia court clearly had jurisdiction to modify the Louisiana judgment, since Georgia was the children’s home state at the time the modification petition was filed.
According to the PKPA, the Louisiana court still has jurisdiction
Under Louisiana law, “[i]f the court grants authorization to relocate, the court may retain continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the case after relocation of the child as long as the non-relocating parent remains in the state.”
We disagree with Kimberly Bonar’s contention that certain appellate court decisions require a contrary result. The cases upon which she relies either do not involve Louisiana law or were decided under the law as it existed before Louisiana’s recently enacted “continuing jurisdiction” statute became effective.
2. We also disagree with Kimberly Bonar’s assertion that, because the jurisdiction issue was already decided adversely to David Bonar in the earlier case, he is precluded from challenging jurisdiction in this case. Although the basis for her argument is not clear, she apparently relies on the “law of the case” rule. That reliance is misplaced, however, since that rule only applies to rulings by the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals,
Furthermore, the issue of whether the Georgia court has jurisdiction is only one of two prongs which must be considered in these cases.
3. Finally, Kimberly Bonar’s argument that we should not consider Louisiana law because David Bonar did not properly introduce
4. Because the trial court lacked authority to consider the merits of the petition for' the reasons set out above, the judgment must be reversed. The case is remanded to the trial court with direction that it dispose of the matter in a manner consistent with this opinion.
Judgment reversed and case remanded with direction.
Although the trial court cited La. R.S. 13:355.17, it apparently intended to cite La. R.S. 9:355.17, inasmuch as the latter statute concerns continuing, exclusive jurisdiction, and 13:355.17 is nonexistent.
28 USC § 1738A.
Wilson v. Gouse, 263 Ga. 887, 889 (1) (441 SE2d 57) (1994); Henderson v. Justice, 237 Ga. App. 284, 289 (3) (514 SE2d 713) (1999).
Garrett v. Garrett, 267 Ga. 356, 357 (477 SE2d 804) (1996).
28 USC § 1738A (f); Henderson, supra.
OCGA § 19-9-43 (a) (1) (A).
See Garrett, supra at 357 (2).
La. R.S. 9:355.17.
La. R.S. 9:355.17 (providing that the court may retain continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the case as long as the nonrelocating parent remains in Louisiana) was enacted in 1997 and applies to, inter alia, custody/visitation orders issued on or after August 15, 1997.
See Bruce v. Garges, 259 Ga. 268, 270 (2) (379 SE2d 783) (1989).
See Garrett, supra at 357-358 (2).
Meeker v. Eufaula Bank &c., 208 Ga. App. 702, 704 (2) (431 SE2d 475) (1993).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.