Ex parte R.B. and A.L. PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS (In re: A.B.) (Conecuh Juvenile Court: JU-22-11.02).

Rel: May 24, 2024

Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter.
Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue,
Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections
may be made before the opinion is published in Southern Reporter.

ALABAMA COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS
OCTOBER TERM, 2023-2024
_________________________

CL-2023-0506
_________________________

Ex parte R.B. and A.L.

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

(In re: R.B., Jr.)

(Conecuh Juvenile Court: JU-22-10.02)

_________________________

CL-2023-0507
_________________________

Ex parte R.B. and A.L.

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

(In re: A.B.)

(Conecuh Juvenile Court: JU-22-11.02)
CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

________________________

CL-2023-0508
_________________________

Ex parte R.B. and A.L.

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

(In re: B.B.)

(Conecuh Juvenile Court: JU-22-12.02)

PER CURIAM.

R.B. ("the father") and A.L. ("the mother") petition this court for

writs of mandamus directing the Conecuh Juvenile Court ("the juvenile

court") to stay cases pending in the juvenile court involving their three

children, R.B., Jr.; A.B.; and B.B. ("the children"), or, in the alternative,

to dismiss the underlying actions based upon lack of personal

jurisdiction.

Background

On May 11, 2022, the Conecuh County Department of Human

Resources ("DHR") filed dependency petitions as to the children in the

juvenile court, alleging that the father and the mother had exposed the

children to domestic violence in an incident with a neighbor. The ensuing

three actions were assigned case numbers of JU-22-10.01, JU-22-11.01,

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

and JU-22-12.01, respectively. According to the dependency petitions, the

children had been residing in Alabama for approximately six weeks. The

children were placed in foster care.

On February 22, 2023, the mother filed motions for return of

custody, arguing that DHR had been operating under a protective-

supervision order/shelter-care order and had not requested an

adjudicatory or permanency hearing. The mother averred that she had

moved to Georgia and was no longer in a relationship with the father.

On May 4, 2023, the juvenile court, following a hearing, entered in

each action an order finding that the children were no longer dependent

as to the mother and purporting to return custody to the mother. On May

22, 2023, the children's former foster mother (who had had physical

custody of the oldest child from May 2022 to May 2023; physical custody

of the middle child from September 2022 to May 2023; and physical

custody of the youngest child from January 2023 to May 2023) filed

motions to intervene in JU-22-10.01, JU-22-11.01 and JU-22-12.01. The

juvenile court denied the motions as moot because, it said, no case was

then pending in juvenile court. DHR appealed from the orders returning

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

custody, but, in August 2023, it filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss the

appeals, which this court granted.

On May 22, 2023, the former foster mother commenced actions for

custody in the juvenile court; those actions were assigned the case

numbers of JU-22-10.02, JU-22-11.02, and JU-22-12.02, respectively.

The former foster mother alleged that "new and current facts" supported

adjudications of dependency as to the mother and the father. It appears,

based on the allegations in the underlying petitions, that the father is

now living in Georgia.

On June 29, 2023, the mother filed answers to the former foster

mother's petitions and argued that the juvenile court lacked personal

jurisdiction. The mother also asked the juvenile court to stay the

proceedings in JU-22.10.02; JU-22-11.02; and JU-22-12.02 because, at

that time, DHR's appeals in JU-22-10.01, JU-22-11.01, and JU-22-12:01

were still pending and involved the same children and parents. On June

30, 2023, the father filed answers and moved to dismiss the former foster

mother's petitions for lack of jurisdiction because, he said, the juvenile

court had found that the children were no longer dependent and because

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

they were living in Georgia with the mother. On July 7, 2023, the

juvenile court denied the motions to dismiss.

On July 20, 2023, the mother and the father filed joint petitions for

a writ of mandamus seeking (1) orders staying the custody actions -- JU-

22-10.02, JU-22-11.02, and JU-22-12.02 -- until the appeals in JU-22-

10.01, JU-22-11.01, and JU-22-12.01 were resolved; and (2) orders

dismissing the former foster mother's petitions in JU-22-10.02, JU-22-

11.02, and JU-22-12.02 for lack of personal jurisdiction because, they

contend, the mother and the children reside in Georgia.

The aspect of the parents' mandamus petitions seeking review of

the juvenile court's orders denying their motions to stay the custody

actions -- JU-22-10.02, JU-22-11.02, and JU-22-12.02 -- until the appeals

in JU-22-10.01, JU-22-11.01, and JU-22-12.01 were resolved is now moot

because DHR has voluntarily dismissed its appeals in JU-22-10.01, JU-

22-11.01, and JU-22-12.01. Mandamus will not issue in a case where

the underlying issue has become moot. Ex parte T.R.S., 794 So. 2d 1157,

1159 (Ala. Civ. App. 2001). Additionally, DHR was the party seeking

dependency adjudications in JU-22-10.01, JU-22-11.01, and JU-22-12.01,

making inapplicable the parents' argument in their mandamus petitions

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

that § 6-5-440, Ala. Code 1975, prohibits simultaneous actions on the

same cause of action against the same party. Also, the former foster

mother alleged "new and current facts" in her dependency petitions,

which arguably would have avoided any preclusive effect under that

statute.

This court asked the parties to address whether the juvenile court

has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to § 30-3B-202, Ala. Code 1975,

including arguments regarding who might meet the definition of a

"person acting as a parent" under the Uniform Child Custody

Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act ("UCCJEA"), § 30-3B-101 et seq., Ala.

Code 1975. 1

Standard of Review

Our standard of review is well-established:

" ' "The writ of mandamus is an extraordinary
remedy; it will not be issued unless the petitioner
shows ' " '(1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to
the order sought; (2) an imperative duty upon the
respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal
to do so; (3) the lack of another adequate remedy;

1Subject-matter jurisdiction is a matter of such magnitude that we

take notice of it at any time and can do so ex mero motu. M.L.W. v. J.W.,
[Ms. CL-2022-0640, May 12, 2023] ___ So. 3d ___. ___ (Ala. Civ. App.
2023).

6
CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

and (4) properly invoked jurisdiction of the
court.' " ' Ex parte Inverness Constr. Co., 775 So. 2d
153, 156 (Ala. 2000) (quoting Ex parte Gates, 675
So. 2d 371, 374 (Ala.1996)); Ex parte Pfizer, Inc.,
746 So. 2d 960, 962 (Ala. 1999)." '

"Ex parte Vest, 68 So. 3d 881, 884 (Ala. Civ. App. 2011)
(quoting Ex parte Children's Hosp. of Alabama, 931 So. 2d 1,
5-6 (Ala. 2005))."

Ex parte M.A.G., 160 So. 3d 22, 24 (Ala. Civ. App. 2014).

The issue of subject-matter jurisdiction is reviewable by way of a

petition for a writ of mandamus. Ex parte C.G., [Ms. CL-2023-0757, Jan.

12, 2024] ___ So. 3d ___, ___ (Ala. Civ. App. 2024). A timely petition for

the writ of mandamus is also a proper method for presenting a challenge

to the denial of a party's motion to dismiss for lack of personal

jurisdiction. Ex parte Sperry, 377 So. 3d 560, 562 (Ala. Civ. App. 2022).

Discussion

One of the purposes of the UCCJEA is to facilitate cooperation

between courts in different states in issuing custody and visitation

orders. Ex parte Siderius, 144 So. 3d 319 (Ala. 2013).

" 'The UCCJEA is a jurisdictional act that establishes
subject-matter jurisdiction over child-custody proceedings.'
H.T. v. Cleburne Cty. Dep't of Human Res., 163 So. 3d 1054,
1062 (Ala. Civ. App. 2014). The UCCJEA differentiates
between a court's jurisdiction to make an 'initial child custody
determination' and a court's 'continuing, exclusive

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

jurisdiction' over a child-custody determination. See §§ 30-
3B-201 and -202, Ala. Code 1975. A 'child custody proceeding'
is '[a] proceeding in a court in which legal custody, physical
custody, or visitation with respect to a child is an issue' and
includes proceedings alleging dependency and seeking
termination of parental rights. § 30-3B-102(4), Ala. Code
1975. A 'child custody determination' is defined as '[a]
judgment, decree, or other order of a court providing for the
legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a
child. The term includes a permanent, temporary, initial, and
modification order.' § 30-3B-102(3). An 'initial determination'
is defined as '[t]he first child custody determination
concerning a particular child.' § 30-3B-102(8)."

A.M. v. Houston Cnty. Dep't of Hum. Res., 262 So. 3d 1210, 1216 (Ala.

Civ. App. 2017).

The UCCJEA recognizes four categories of subject-matter

jurisdiction: (1) initial child-custody jurisdiction, see § 30-3B-201, Ala.

Code 1975; (2) continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a child-custody

determination, see § 30-3B-202, Ala. Code 1975; (3) jurisdiction to modify

another state's child-custody determination, see § 30-3B-203, Ala. Code

1975; and (4) temporary emergency jurisdiction to protect a child present

in this state, see § 30-3B-204, Ala. Code 1975.

In the present case, the juvenile court made initial child-custody

determinations, pursuant to its temporary emergency jurisdiction under

§ 30-3B-204(a), Ala. Code 1975, when it awarded DHR legal custody of

8
CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

the children on May 12, 2022, to resolve an emergency regarding the

children's safety and welfare. The juvenile court purported to enter

another set of "permanent" custody orders on May 4, 2023, when it found

the children not to be dependent and awarded their custody to the

mother; however, the part of the order disposing of their custody was

void. See K.C.G. v. S.J.R., 46 So. 3d 499, 502 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010) ("[I]f,

and only if, a juvenile court finds that the child is dependent, the court

may then conduct proceedings to determine the custodial disposition of

the child.", see also J.A. v. C.M., 93 So. 3d 953, 955 (Ala. Civ. App. 2012)

(stating that juvenile court, after finding that allegedly dependent

children are not dependent, must dismiss a dependency action and allow

custody to be returned to former custodians). As a result, the juvenile

court never entered child-custody determinations pursuant to any

authority other than temporary emergency jurisdiction under § 30-3B-

204(a).

Section 30-3B-202(a) provides that a court of this state maintains

continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a child-custody determination if

the determination was made "consistent with [Ala. Code 1975, §] 30-3B-

201 or [§] 30-3B-203." In this case, the juvenile court did not make child-

9
CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

custody determinations consistent with either § 30-3B-201 or § 30-3B-

203; instead, it relied only on § 30-3B-204(a). Thus, the juvenile court

did not have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction pursuant to §30-3B-201(a).

Section 30-3B-202(b) provides that "[a] court of this state which has

made a child custody determination and does not have continuing,

exclusive jurisdiction under this section may modify that determination

only if it has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under [§] 30-

3B-201." Thus, the juvenile court in this case would have had jurisdiction

to enter a subsequent child-custody determination only if it had

jurisdiction under § 30-3B-201, which sets forth four separate bases for

jurisdiction: home-state jurisdiction pursuant to § 30-3B-201(a)(1);

significant-connection jurisdiction pursuant to § 30-3B-201(a)(2); more-

appropriate-forum jurisdiction (in which jurisdiction has been declined

by all courts having jurisdiction under subdivision (a)(1) and (a)(2)),

pursuant § 30-3B-201(a)(3); and last-resort-jurisdiction (in which no

court of any other state would have jurisdiction under subdivision (a)(1),

(a)(2), or (a)(3)), pursuant to § 30-3B-201(a)(4).

Section 30-3B-201(a)(1), which governs home-state jurisdiction,

provides:

10
CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

" (1) This state is the home state of the child on the date
of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home state
of the child within six months before the commencement of
the proceeding and the child is absent from this state but a
parent or person acting as a parent continues to live in this
state; .…"

Under § 30-3B-201(a)(1), the juvenile court may exercise

jurisdiction over the former foster mother's three new dependency actions

as to the children if Alabama was the home state of the children on the

date of the commencement of the proceedings, i.e., May 22, 2023, the date

on which the former foster mother filed her verified petitions for custody.

The "home state" is "[t]he state in which a child lived with a parent or a

person acting as a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately

before the commencement of a child custody proceeding." § 30-3B-102(7),

Ala. Code 1975. Alabama was not the children's home state because the

children moved to Georgia on May 5, 2023. However, § 30-3B-201(a)(1)

further provides that an Alabama court may nonetheless exercise home-

state jurisdiction if Alabama was "the home state of the child[ren] within

six months before the commencement of the proceeding and [they are]

absent from this state but a parent or person acting as a parent continues

to live in this state."

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

The parents argue that the juvenile court, in entering its

dependency judgments in JU-22-10.01, JU-22-11.01, and JU-22-12.01,

lacked home-state jurisdiction under § 30-3B-201(a)(1) because the

parents and the children had only been in Alabama for six weeks when

DHR filed its petitions for protective custody on May 11, 2022. The

parents state that they moved to Tennessee during the proceedings and

the mother later moved to Georgia. The former foster mother asserts

that she qualifies under the UCCJEA as a "person acting as a parent"

because, she says, she had "physical custody [of the child] for a period of

six consecutive months" before seeking custody and "claims a right to

legal custody under the law of this state." § 30-3B-102(13).

Section 30-3B-102(13), a portion of the UCCJEA, defines a "person

acting as a parent" as:

A person, other than a parent, who:

"a. Has physical custody of the child or has
had physical custody for a period of six consecutive
months, including any temporary absence, within
one year immediately before the commencement of
a child custody proceeding; and

"b. Has been awarded legal custody by a
court or claims a right to legal custody under the
law of this state."

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

The Official Comment to § 30-3B-102 provides that:

"The term 'person acting as a parent' has been slightly
redefined. It has been broadened from the definition in the
[former Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, the
predecessor to the UCCJEA,] to include a person who has
acted as a parent for a significant period of time prior to the
filing of the custody proceeding as well as a person who
currently has physical custody of the child. In addition, a
person acting as a parent must either have legal custody or
claim a right to legal custody under the law of this state. The
reference to the law of this State means that a court
determines the issue of whether someone is a 'person acting
as a parent' under its own law. This reaffirms the traditional
view that a court in a child custody case applies its own
substantive law. The court does not have to undertake a
choice-of-law analysis to determine whether the individual
who is claiming to be a person acting as a parent has standing
to seek custody of the child."

In Patrick v. Williams, 952 So. 2d 1131 (Ala. Civ. App. 2006), this

court held that a grandparent may satisfy the requirements set forth in

§ 30-3B-102(13). The parents in Patrick were divorced by a judgment of

the Tallapoosa Circuit Court in 2000. That court, in awarding the mother

custody of the children, exercised jurisdiction to make an initial custody

determination. See § 30-3B-201. Subsequently, the mother moved to

Texas; however, the mother voluntarily placed the children with their

grandmother, who still lived in Alabama. Shortly thereafter, the

grandmother filed an emergency petition for custody in the Tallapoosa

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

Circuit Court. The father, who also lived in Alabama, filed a response to

the grandmother's emergency petition. The father and the grandmother

entered into an agreement giving the grandmother pendente lite custody

and the father visitation. Ultimately, the Tallapoosa Circuit Court

awarded the grandmother custody of the children. This court affirmed

the circuit court's judgment awarding permanent custody of the children

to the grandmother. We held that the circuit court continued to have

jurisdiction to modify custody pursuant to § 30-3B-202 because the

grandmother had had physical custody when she initiated the custody

proceedings and because the grandmother had claimed a legal right to

their custody. Also, the children, the grandmother, and the father had

all been living in Alabama at the time the custody proceedings were

commenced.

In B.B. v. L.W., 163 So. 3d 1042 (Ala. Civ. App. 2014) (plurality

opinion), this court addressed whether the grandmother in that case met

the definition of "person acting as a parent" under § 30-3B-102(13), when

the grandmother did not have the mother's permission to assume

physical custody of the child. In B.B., a Michigan court, in 2002, granted

the grandmother legal guardianship of the child with the mother's

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

permission. Subsequently, the grandmother moved with the child to

Tuscaloosa, where they lived until 2007, when the child went to live with

the mother in Michigan. The mother thereafter allowed the child to visit

with the grandmother in Alabama. In June 2011, the mother allowed the

child and the child's younger brother to visit in Alabama. The children

were scheduled to return to Michigan in August 2011 before the school

year began. However, although the grandmother allowed the child's

younger brother to return to Michigan, the grandmother detained the

child in Alabama.

On July 5, 2012, the mother in B.B. v. L.W. filed an emergency

petition in the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court ("the Alabama court") seeking

an order compelling delivery of the child to her. The record contained a

letter from the Michigan court to the grandmother dated July 2006,

informing the grandmother that the guardianship that had been granted

to her by that court was valid only as long as she resided in Michigan.

The Alabama court determined that it had jurisdiction as the "home

state" of the child under the UCCJEA. This court, in addressing the

grandmother's argument that she met the definition of a "person acting

as a parent" under § 30-3B-102(13), stated:

15
CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

"The grandmother, in reliance on § 30-3B-102(13),
asserts that, because the child had been in her physical
custody for more than six months at the time the mother filed
the petition for a writ of assistance in the trial court, Alabama
is the proper jurisdiction in which to determine custody of the
child. However, our analysis of the UCCJEA does not simply
rest upon the child's residency over the six months preceding
the initiation of these proceedings. To be sure, we do not take
lightly the allegations that the child had been abused.
However, we cannot condone the unilateral decision of a
grandparent, or of any party, to deprive a parent of the
fundamental right to custody of his or her child with no legal
justification. The grandmother did not invoke the temporary
emergency jurisdiction of the trial court pursuant to § 30-3B-
204(a), Ala. Code 1975, nor did she file a petition asserting
that the child was dependent when she first discovered the
alleged abuse.

"We are further unpersuaded by the grandmother's
argument that § 30-3B-102(13) does not require that the
' "claim to legal custody" to be good or bad,' or, in other words,
that a person acting as a parent need not have a colorable
claim to custody. Citing Smith v. Smith, 922 So. 2d 94, 99 (Ala.
2005), the grandmother asserts that she was standing 'in loco
parentis.' Our supreme court decided in Smith that the trial
court had erroneously accorded individuals that, although
family members, were essentially acting as babysitters in loco
parentis status. Id. at 100. The underlying issues in Smith
were various tort claims relating to the accidental death of a
child; our supreme court did not address whether someone
acting in loco parentis satisfied the requirements of the
UCCJEA. Id. at 96-100. We agree with the North Dakota
Supreme Court that, '[a]bsent a requirement of mandating a
colorable claim [to custody], the underlying policies of the
UCCJEA and the [Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act]
would be frustrated as nonparents execute 'interstate
abductions and other unilateral removals of children [ ] to
obtain custody and visitation awards." Rogers [v. Platt], [199

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

Cal. App. 3d 1204,] 1212-13, 245 Cal. Rptr. 532 [ (1988) ].'
Schirado v. Foote, 785 N.W.2d 235, 244 (N.D. 2010). Based
upon the foregoing, we conclude that the grandmother did not
have a legal claim to custody under the laws of this state;
therefore, she was precluded from 'acting as a parent' as
defined by § 30-3B-102(13). Therefore, we must conclude that
Alabama is not the child's home state and that the trial court
could not have assumed jurisdiction over this matter
pursuant to § 30-B-201(a)(1)."

B.B. v. L.W., 163 So. 3d at 1048-49 (plurality opinion).

In the present cases, Alabama did not become the home state of the

children under § 30-3B-201(a)(1) within six months of the commencement

of the three new dependency proceedings. The children did not live in

Alabama with their parents for six consecutive months. Two of the

children, R.B., Jr., and A.B., lived with the foster mother for six

consecutive months, but she was not "a person acting as a parent" at that

time. Section 30-3B-102(13) defines "a person acting as a parent" as one

who has not only physical custody of a child, but also has legal custody or

claims a right to legal custody of the child. During the relevant period,

the former foster mother did not have legal custody of the children;

moreover, she had agreed not to pursue their legal custody in a foster-

parent agreement with DHR. "The nature of the foster care relationship

is distinctly different from that of the natural family; namely, it is a

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

temporary arrangement created by state and contractual agreements."

Renfro v. Cuyahoga Cnty. Dep't of Hum. Servs., 884 F.2d 943, 944 (6th

Cir. 1989). Thus, the former foster mother did not qualify as a person

acting as a parent while keeping the children in foster care.2 The third

child, B.B., lived with the foster mother for five months only, so Alabama

did not even arguably become his home state at any point.

The fact that the former foster mother is now claiming a right to

legal custody of the children does not alter the outcome. Even if we were

to presume that the former foster mother could somehow qualify as "a

person acting as a parent" by virtue of filing of the three new dependency

petitions, it remains true that she was not "a person acting as a parent"

when she was acting as the foster parent for the children in the preceding

2At least two other states have addressed whether a foster parent

is a person acting as a parent under the UCCJEA. See In re Z.H., 245
W.Va. 456, 859 S.E.2d 399 (2021) (rejecting the West Virginia
Department of Health and Human Resources' argument that the foster
parents were "persons acting as a parent" for the purposes of establishing
home-state jurisdiction because the argument ignored that the child was
placed with the foster parents after and as a result of DHHR's
proceedings). But see In re Custody of A.C., 165 Wash. 2d 568, 200 P.3d
689 (2009) (holding that the foster parents were "acting as a parent"
under the Washington UCCJEA when they had had physical custody of
the child for six months and were claiming a clear legal right to custody).

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

six months, as required for Alabama to become the children's home state.

At the point the former foster mother filed the three new

dependency petitions, it appears that no state had home-state

jurisdiction over the children. They had moved to Georgia only two weeks

earlier, so that state did not have home-state jurisdiction, and, as

explained above, Alabama also did not have home-state jurisdiction. In

these circumstances, § 30-3B-201(a)(2), providing for significant-

connection jurisdiction, would allow the juvenile court to exercise

jurisdiction over the three new dependency petitions if:

"a. The child and the child's parents, or the child and at
least one parent or a person acting as a parent, have a
significant connection with this state other than mere
physical presence; and

"b. Substantial evidence is available in this state
concerning the child's care, protection, training, and personal
relationships."

In this case, the parents, who no longer live in Alabama, do not have

a significant connection with Alabama. Likewise, it appears that the

children do not have any significant connection to Alabama. They were

brought to this state in their tender years by their parents and resided

here for only six weeks before being placed into foster care. Once the

juvenile court determined that the children were not dependent, they

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

immediately moved to Georgia to live with the mother. It appears that

the children have no family members in this state other than a distant

relative that they have never met. Their only connection appears to be

their relationship with the former foster mother, who apparently

intended to adopt them, but that connection was severed when the

juvenile court ordered the children to be removed from her custody and

returned to the mother. Moreover, the former foster mother was not a

"person acting as a parent," which is required for significant-connection

jurisdiction under § 30-3B-201(a)(2)a.

We note that more-appropriate-forum jurisdiction and last-resort

jurisdiction, as set out in §§ 30-3B-201(a)(3) and (a)(4) respectively, do

not apply to this case. This is so because neither Georgia nor any other

state court have declined to exercise jurisdiction in favor of Alabama nor

is Alabama a court of last resort for the former foster mother's petitions.

Conclusion

The juvenile court made its initial custody determinations pursuant

to its temporary emergency jurisdiction. Alabama lacked continuing

jurisdiction over the former foster mother's custody petitions filed

subsequent to the emergency petitions under the UCCJEA. Therefore,

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CL-2023-0506, CL-2023-0507, and CL-2023-0508

we grant the parents' petitions for writs of mandamus and direct the

juvenile court to dismiss the former foster mother's custody petitions

based on lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. 3

CL-2023-0506 -- PETITION DISMISSED IN PART AND

GRANTED IN PART; WRIT ISSUED.

CL-2023-0507 -- PETITION DISMISSED IN PART AND

GRANTED IN PART; WRIT ISSUED.

CL-2023-0508 -- PETITION DISMISSED IN PART AND

GRANTED IN PART; WRIT ISSUED.

Moore, P.J., and Hanson and Lewis, JJ., concur.

Edwards, J., concurs in the result, with opinion.

Fridy, J., recuses himself.

3We pretermit discussion of the parents' arguments regarding the

juvenile court's lack of personal jurisdiction.
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EDWARDS, Judge, concurring in the result.

R.B. ("the father") and A.L. ("the mother") have filed in this court

petitions for the writ of mandamus seeking review of the Conecuh

Juvenile Court's denial of their motions to stay and their motions to

dismiss the dependency and custody actions relating to their children,

R.B., Jr., A.B., and B.B. ("the children"), which had been filed by the

children's former foster mother, B.B.C. ("the former foster mother"), on

May 22, 2023. 4 The children had been the subject of previous dependency

actions instituted in the Conecuh Juvenile Court ("the juvenile court") in

May 2022 by the Conecuh County Department of Human Resources

("DHR"). 5 The juvenile court, in orders entered on May 4, 2023,

determined that the children were not dependent, relieved DHR of its

temporary legal custody of the children, and ordered that the children be

4The foster mother's petition relating to R.B., Jr., was assigned case

number JU-22-10.02; her petition relating to A.B. was assigned case
number JU-22-11.02; and her petition relating to B.B. was assigned case
number JU-22-12.02.

5DHR's petition relating to R.B., Jr., was assigned case number JU-

22-10.01; its petition relating to A.B. was assigned case number JU-22-
11.01; and its petition relating to B.B. was assigned case number JU-22-
12.01.
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returned to the custody of the mother. 6 DHR appealed from the May 4,

2023, orders.

In August 2023, after the mother and the father had filed their

petitions for the writ of mandamus in July 2023, DHR dismissed its

appeals. Therefore, like the main opinion, I conclude that, insofar as the

mother and the father request that the dependency and custody actions

commenced by the former foster mother be stayed pending the outcome

of those appeals, the petitions have been mooted. See Ex parte Autauga

Cnty. Dep't of Hum. Res., 353 So. 3d 542, 547 (Ala. Civ. App. 2021)

(determining that issue presented in petition for the writ of mandamus

had been mooted by the dismissal of an underlying action). I would not

further discuss the arguments of the mother and the father respecting

the request that the former foster mother's actions be stayed. 7

6DHR's appeal regarding the order entered in case number JU-22-

10.01 was assigned appeal number CL-2023-0300; DHR's appeal from the
order entered in case number JU-22-11.01 was assigned appeal number
CL-2023-0301; and DHR's appeal from the order entered in case number
JU-22-12.01 was assigned appeal number CL-2023-0302.

7I note, however, that Ala. Code 1975, § 6-5-440, commonly known

as the abatement statute, prohibits a particular plaintiff from
prosecuting more than one action for the same cause of action against the
same defendant. See Johnson v. Brown-Service Ins., 293 Ala. 549, 551,
307 So. 2d 518, 520 (1974) (discussing the predecessor statute to § 6-5-
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However, I am not convinced that the former foster mother's

dependency and custody petitions, which make allegations that the

children are dependent based on the "failure [of the mother and the

father] to comply with [individualized service plans], sexual abuse,

domestic violence, mental-health issues, and drug use" and allegations

that the mother's fiancé, S.M., "has a criminal history and abuses drugs

and alcohol," are sufficient to state new allegations that could support

the former foster mother's petitions. The juvenile court heard evidence

regarding the conduct of the mother and of the father and of the conduct

and character of S.M. at the April 24, 2023, hearing on DHR's dependency

petitions.8 The May 4, 2023, judgments in DHR's dependency actions

440, Title 7, §146, Ala. Code 1940 (Recomp. 1958), and stating that the
abatement statute "stands for the proposition that a person cannot
prosecute two suits at the same time, for the same cause against the same
party. The purpose of the rule is to avoid multiplicity of suits and
vexatious litigation."). Both parties -- i.e., the plaintiff and the defendant
-- must be identical for the statute to bar an action. In this instance, the
plaintiffs in the two sets of dependency actions are not identical.

8In considering the merits of the petitions, I have considered not

only the materials provided in support of the petitions and the answers
to the petitions, but also items that are contained in the record in DHR's
appeals. See City of Mobile v. Matthews, 220 So. 3d 1061, 1063-64 & n.3
(Ala. Civ. App. 2016) (explaining the circumstances under which an
appellate court can take judicial notice of its own records in a different
appeal).
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determined as a matter of fact that the fiancé was stable in his finances,

his home, and his employment. A reading of the May 4, 2023, judgments

compels the conclusion that the juvenile court determined that the

children were not dependent and should be returned to the custody of the

mother in part because she was living with S.M., who provided stability

for the mother.

The "new and current facts" alleged in the former foster mother's

petitions are neither new nor current, and, in fact, are the same

allegations that the juvenile court had resolved in favor of the mother in

the May 4, 2023, judgments. Thus, I conclude that the former foster

mother's petitions should have been dismissed because they were barred

by the doctrine of res judicata.

"In Hughes v. Martin, 533 So. 2d 188 (Ala. 1988), this Court
explained the rationale behind the doctrine of res judicata:

" ' "Res judicata is a broad, judicially developed
doctrine, which rests upon the ground that public
policy, and the interest of the litigants alike,
mandate that there be an end to litigation; that
those who have contested an issue shall be bound
by the ruling of the court; and that issues once
tried shall be considered forever settled between
those same parties and their privies."

" '533 So. 2d at 190. The elements of res judicata are

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" ' "(1) a prior judgment on the merits, (2) rendered
by a court of competent jurisdiction, (3) with
substantial identity of the parties, and (4) with the
same cause of action presented in both actions."

" 'Equity Res. Mgmt., Inc. v. Vinson, 723 So. 2d 634, 636 (Ala.
1998). "If those four elements are present, then any claim that
was, or that could have been, adjudicated in the prior action
is barred from further litigation." 723 So. 2d at 636. Res
judicata, therefore, bars a party from asserting in a
subsequent action a claim that it has already had an
opportunity to litigate in a previous action.' "

Ex parte H.A.S., 308 So. 3d 533, 540-41 (Ala. Civ. App. 2020) (quoting

Lee L. Saad Constr. Co. v. DPF Architects, P.C., 851 So. 2d 507, 516-17

(Ala. 2002)).

DHR's concluded dependency actions and the former foster

mother's new actions present the same claim -- that the children are

dependent based on the conduct of the mother and the father. The May

4, 2023, judgments, which were entered by a court of competent

jurisdiction, terminated DHR's dependency actions on the merits by

concluding that DHR had failed to establish that the children were

dependent. Because the former foster mother's relationship to the

children resulted from her being a foster parent licensed by DHR and

from DHR's placement of the children in her care, she is a party in privity

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with DHR, satisfying the requirement that there be substantial identity

of the parties.

In my opinion, the former foster mother alleges no new facts in her

petitions, and her petitions were due to be dismissed on the basis of the

doctrine of res judicata. I would grant the petitions for a writ of

mandamus and direct the juvenile court to dismiss the former foster

mother's petitions not because the juvenile court lacked subject-matter

jurisdiction but because of the application of the doctrine of res judicata. 9

Accordingly, I concur in the result of the main opinion.

9I express no opinion on whether the main opinion correctly
analyzes subject-matter jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, Ala. Code 1975, § 30-3B-101 et seq.
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