Opinion ID: 2344352
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Allison's Due Process Contentions

Text: [¶ 8] Allison's first issue on appeal is whether she was deprived of her rights to due process because the court did not hold an evidentiary hearing and because it failed to treat the motions to dismiss as summary judgment motions. Allison did not request an evidentiary hearing and did not give the trial court any indication of what she would present at an evidentiary hearing. The court had extensive affidavits from both parties and no reason to believe that an evidentiary hearing was needed. Most of the basic facts regarding who lived where and when are not disputed. To be sure, the parties dispute the significance of the basic facts, and they dispute Allison's intent with regard to the Maine residence. However, as discussed below, because Allison's intent is not relevant to a determination of whether the statutory criteria have been met in this case, no evidentiary hearing was needed. [¶ 9] Motions to dismiss, which challenge personal jurisdiction, are most commonly decided without holding an evidentiary hearing. Dorf v. Complastik Corp., 1999 ME 133, ¶ 13, 735 A.2d 984, 988. The facts in this case that are necessary to determine whether the court had subject matter jurisdiction over the parties' divorce are similar to those that commonly arise in personal jurisdiction matters. We conclude that Allison's due process rights were not violated when the court did not sua sponte hold an evidentiary hearing. [¶ 10] Furthermore, we fail to see any due process problem created by the fact that the court did not treat the motion to dismiss as a summary judgment motion. Although M.R. Civ. P. 12(b) suggests that a motion pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) should be treated as a summary judgment motion when the parties present materials outside of the pleadings, such is not true for motions pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), the rule provision regarding motions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court did not err in failing to treat the motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction as a summary judgment motion.