Court Opinion

ID: 9857952
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 16:10:11.033505+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:01:02.648082
License: Public Domain

*624On Petition to Rehear
McAMIS, P. J.
Defendant in error Keith Hester has filed a petition to rehear. The burden of the petition seems to be that he should be granted a remand for the purpose of showing the laws of Georgia, although the brief makes no reference to Georgia statutes or decisions, and that Mrs. Hester should be repelled because she is in contempt of the Georgia court.
Defendant in error was content to acquiesce in the Court’s action dismissing the suit. He offered no testimony and gave np notice of his intention to rely on Georgia law. He now seeks another trial which can only result in months, perhaps years, of delay. And, while relying on Mrs. Hester’s alleged contempt, he is asking for a rehearing and another trial although he himself is in violation of the orders of the Georgia court both as to the payment of alimony and child support and has offered no real defense under Tennessee law and so far as we are advised under Georgia law.
T.C.A. 24-610 provides that the laws of a foreign state can be relied upon only if reasonable notice is given to adverse parties or set forth in the pleadings. Where this is done the appellate court can take judicial notice of such laws and statutes. T.C.A. 24-613.
The defense in the trial court was that the suit should be dismissed because visitation rights had been denied and because the mother was in contempt of court. As held in Pendray v. Pendray, cited in our original opinion, in Tennessee denial of visitation rights is no defense in an action for child support and it can only be determined whether the mother is in contempt or *625whether alimony payments should he disallowed, if at all, by determining whether her denial of visitation rights was wilful or in good faith. As we said in our original opinion visitation rights should be under the control of the court controlling custody rights, in this case the court in Georgia which is also the forum where the initial adjudication was made, where the witnesses, the children and the mother reside. For some reason the father chose to leave that forum and has assiduously refrained from returning for the relief he now seeks in Tennessee.
The petition takes issue with our statement that to deny relief in this case might make it impossible for plaintiff in error ever to enforce the decree. It is not explained, however, how service of process can be obtained in Georgia so that an in personam judgment could be obtained there.
It is erroneously assumed we adjudicated the question of justification of the denial of visitation rights. We did not make such an adjudication but, on the contrary, expressly provided the judgment to be entered will be without prejudice as to installments of alimony and child support accruing after this suit was filed.
The petition to rehear is denied at the cost of petitioner.
Cooper and Parrott, JJ., concur.