Opinion ID: 1662406
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether the tribal court's order should have been recognized by comity.

Text: Father contends that the order granting him custody of Danielle which was entered by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court was entitled to comity in the circuit court proceeding held in Brown County. As we noted in State ex rel Joseph v. Redwing, 429 N.W.2d 49 (S.D.1988), a party seeking recognition of a tribal court order under the principle of comity must establish the mandatory requisites of SDCL 1-1-25 by clear and convincing evidence. Under SDCL 1-1-25, the party must establish that (1) the tribal court had jurisdiction over both the subject matter and the parties; (2) the order or judgment was not fraudulently obtained; (3) the order or judgment was obtained by a process that assures the requisite of an impartial administration of justice, including but not limited to due notice and a hearing; (4) the order or judgment complies with the laws of the jurisdiction in which it was obtained; and (5) the order or judgment does not contravene the public policy of the State of South Dakota. See also Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 16 S.Ct. 139, 40 L.Ed. 95 (1895); Mexican v. Circle Bear, 370 N.W. 2d 737 (S.D.1985). It is clear, for the reasons stated below, that Father has failed to meet his burden and that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant comity to the tribal court order. First, the tribal court did not properly have jurisdiction over Mother. In order to exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident, the forum court must act in compliance with the requirements of due process. Both components of due processnotice and minimum contactsmust be satisfied before a court may properly exercise personal jurisdiction over a party. See International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). [2] The standard set forth for determining whether the assertion of jurisdiction comports with due process was summarized by the United States Supreme Court as follows: The existence of personal jurisdiction ... depends upon the presence of reasonable notice to the defendant that an action has been brought ... and a sufficient connection between the defendant and the forum State to make it fair to require defense of the action in the forum. Kulko v. Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84, 91, 98 S.Ct. 1690, 1696, 56 L.Ed.2d 132, 141 (1978) (citations omitted). Here, the record indicates that Mother was never properly served with either a copy of Father's petition for permanent custody of Danielle or a copy of the tribal court's temporary custody order. Further, the record shows that Mother received only a bare summons (served by certified mail) to appear in the Tribal Court for a hearing on who would receive permanent custody of Danielle and that Mother has never had any contacts with the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. As a result, we conclude that Mother did not have sufficient contacts with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe so as to render her amenable to its personal jurisdiction. Kulko, supra ; International Shoe, supra . Moreover, we do not believe that Mother did anything so as to purposely avail herself of the privilege of conducting activities within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation so as to render herself subject to personal jurisdiction by Tribal Court. See Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958). Finally, we must note that the actions of Father alone are insufficient for the tribe to take jurisdiction over Mother. [3] The unilateral activity of those who claim some relationship with a nonresident defendant cannot satisfy the requirement of contact with the forum State. Kulko, 436 U.S. at 93-94, 98 S.Ct. at 1698, 56 L.Ed.2d at 142, quoting Hanson, supra . We note that the tribe's own Law and Order Code fails to provide for jurisdiction in this instance. Its preamble makes no reference to the Code's applicability to off-reservation Indians. Its provisions for the assumption of jurisdiction by the tribe also do not appear to apply. T.C. § 1-4-1 applies only to those Indians living within the territorial jurisdiction of the reservation. T.C. § 1-4-2 extends the tribe's jurisdiction to the exterior boundaries of the reservation and upon certain Indian trust lands. T.C. § 1-4-3 extends personal jurisdiction only in the case where one has had sufficient contact with the reservation, e.g., living on the reservation, transacting business or owning property thereon, or tortious or criminal activity within the reservation. The tribe's Juvenile Code also does not appear to grant jurisdiction. T.C. § 5-3-1 applies only to Indians found upon the reservation and only in certain enumerated circumstances. The tribal court attempted to exercise jurisdiction under one such circumstance, namely that Danielle was neglected or dependent, pursuant to T.C. § 5-3-1(2). However, Danielle's absence from the reservation rendered such exercise a nullity. Further, because the tribe could not assume jurisdiction over Danielle under its Juvenile Code, its attempt to exercise jurisdiction over Mother pursuant to T.C. § 5-8-2, which extends jurisdiction to certain adults who are necessary for a juvenile adjudication, is likewise a nullity. Thus, the tribal court's failure to gain personal jurisdiction over Mother precludes the circuit court from extending comity to the tribal court's order. [4]