Golodner v. Women’s Center of Southeastern Connecticut Inc., Connecticut Supreme Court, SC 17660 (Katz, J.) - An unmarried couple had a child in 2003 who was born in Germany. The couple resided together in 2003 and 2004. The May of 2004, the mother vacated the residence and moved into a shelter. The father commenced a custody action and obtained an ex parte order of custody. However, before service of that order, the mother moved to Germany with the child. The father commenced an action in Germany seeking the child’s return pursuant to the Hague Convention. The German court ordered the mother to return the child to Connecticut. The mother and the child returned to Connecticut. The mother then moved to dismiss the father’s custody action in Connecticut, and while attending a hearing on her own motion to dismiss, a marshal served the father’s summons and complaint for a custodial interference action on the mother.

The mother moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and maintained that nonresidents are immune from service of process when they are involuntarily in Connecticut. The father objected claiming that the mother was not involuntarily in Connecticut as only the child was ordered to be returned and she sought relief from a Connecticut court.

The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, the father appealed, and the Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed. The Connecticut Supreme Court found that the mother is immune from legal process, and the Court noted that there were German court orders about flight arrangements directed to the mother, and the child was only two years old and not expected to make the trip alone. Information source: The Connecticut Law Tribune.