The case of Matter of Regla F. v Dustin F., decided by the Appellate Division, First Department, centers on jurisdictional issues under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and the consequences of a parent's procedural noncompliance in a custody dispute.
Regla F., the petitioner-mother, and Dustin F., the respondent-father, were divorced in Florida in 2018. Their divorce decree incorporated a parenting plan granting joint legal and physical custody of their child and explicitly designated Florida as the state with continuing and exclusive jurisdiction over custody and visitation matters. In 2022, the mother petitioned the Florida court for permission to temporarily relocate with the child to New York. The Florida court granted temporary relocation pending a fact-finding hearing, but later dismissed the relocation petition in March 2025 due to the mother's repeated failure to appear at mandatory case management conferences. The Florida court characterized her absences as willful and in bad faith, reaffirmed its jurisdiction, and maintained that Florida remained the child’s home state.
Simultaneously, the mother filed a custody petition in New York, arguing that Florida should decline jurisdiction since the child had lived in New York since mid-2022 and no longer had ties to Florida. However, the New York Family Court dismissed the petition, citing lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the UCCJEA. The court emphasized that New York cannot assume jurisdiction unless the original state—here, Florida—explicitly declines it. The Florida court had not done so; in fact, it had confirmed its intent to retain jurisdiction. The father’s continued residence in Florida further supported the conclusion that Florida retained a significant connection to the case.
The Family Court also dismissed the mother’s family offense petition, reasoning that any order arising from it would necessarily affect custody and parental access, matters over which Florida had exclusive jurisdiction. The appellate court affirmed both dismissals, finding no error in the Family Court’s determinations and deeming the mother’s remaining arguments unpersuasive.
The case stayed in Florida ... like a stubborn snowbird ....
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DECISION