Court Opinion

ID: 9572709
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:43:56.51543+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:33:50.417439
License: Public Domain

*404WYNN, Judge,
dissenting.
Although “a court has inherent power to inquire into, and determine, whether it has jurisdiction and to dismiss an action ex mero motu when subject matter jurisdiction is lacking[,]” In re N.R.M., 165 N.C. App. 294, 297, 598 S.E.2d 147, 149 (citation omitted), this inherent power should be exercised only “[w]hen the record clearly shows that subject matter jurisdiction is lacking. . . .” Id. (quoting Lemmerman v. Williams Oil Co., 318 N.C. 577, 580, 350 S.E.2d 83, 86 (1986)). Because the record on appeal supports the trial court’s conclusion that the State of Illinois, not North Carolina, had jurisdiction over this custody matter, I would affirm the trial court’s order.
In this matter, a child was bom to a high school mother in 1992. The biological mother, unable to care for the child, consented to the child living in the State of Illinois with his paternal grandparents. Moreover, it appears the biological mother consented to an Illinois order of guardianship for the grandparents.5
In July 2002, the grandparents allowed the minor child to visit the biological mother in North Carolina; however, instead of returning the child to Illinois, the biological mother filed a complaint in October 2002 in New Hanover County, North Carolina, seeking an assumption of jurisdiction by North Carolina.
Thereafter, the putative father, who apparently had little involvement with the child, obtained an Illinois order stating:
THIS MATTER coming to be heard for status and Michael Walker’s Motion for Visitation Violation;
Michael Walker present and Kendra Williams failing to appear[.] The court being duly advised in the premises IT IS HEREBY ORDERED
1) Child Representative Ruth R. Watson is discharged instanter.
2) Michael Walker is granted leave to transfer the case into the pending case in the State of North Carolina.
3) this matter is taken off call.
(Emphasis added).
*405Acting upon this order obtained by the sole actions of the putative father, on 15 July 2003, District Court Judge John W. Smith of New Hanover County, North Carolina, issued an order asserting jurisdiction over this custody matter. The order made no reference to the Illinois Guardianship Order, nor were the grandparents made parties to the North Carolina action.
Sometime thereafter, the Illinois court apparently discovered that the earlier order issued by Illinois at the behest of the putative father was issued without advisement of the prior order of guardianship. As a result, the Illinois Court ordered the putative father to obtain the North Carolina court file.(Rpp. 18-9).
Subsequently, the grandparents filed a motion to intervene in the pending action in North Carolina, and their motion was granted on 20 August 2004. Judge Smith continued the proceedings concerning the grandparents’ motion for relief from the order assuming jurisdiction until completion of the proceedings in Illinois.
Thereafter, District Court Judge Phyllis' M. Gorham of New Hanover County, North Carolina, issued an order on 6 October 2005 finding:
3. That the Interveners were appointed Guardians for the minor, child the subject of this action on April 7, 1993, in an Order in Cook County, Illinois File No.: 1993 P 1023, and that Order of Guardianship has never been set aside; subsequently, there was an action filed by the Defendant in Illinois for custody of the minor child in Cook County, Illinois file no. 01 D 79852; that the minor child was; placed with the Interveners by the Plaintiff and Defendant in December of 1992 when the minor child was approximately three (3) months old, and the minor child continued to reside with the Interveners from April 7, 1993 per the Guardianship Order in Cook County file no. 1993 P 1023 until on or about July 12, 2002 when the minor child came to visit the Plaintiff/Mother in North Carolina; that the Plaintiff has never returned the minor child to the State of Illinois.
4. That on July 16, 2003, the New Hanover County Court, the Honorable John W. Smith, entered an Order in this action asserting jurisdiction as to custody and visitation of the minor child the subject of this action, and granting the Plaintiff/Mother custody of the minor child upon the State of Illinois’s yielding jurisdiction to the State of North Carolina in Illinois file no. 01 D 79852; that *406subsequent to the July 16, 2003 Order, and more particularly, on February 26, 2004, the State of Illinois, in the same case file, 01 D 79862, entered an Order by and through the Honorable Allan W. Masters whereby the Defendant, Michael Walker, Sr., was granted the sole temporary custody of the minor child, and all parties were ordered to appear at a hearing on April 22, 2004; that the Honorable Allan W. Masters entered a subsequent Order on April 22, 2004, finding as a fact that the Interveners, legal guardians of the minor child, were never made parties to the custody action in Cook County file no. 01 D 79852, and that the Court presumed that North Carolina was never made aware of the still valid Order of Guardianship granted the Interveners in 1993, and continued the case to June 25, 2004; that on June 25, 2004, a status call hearing was set at which time the custody action in Cook County file no. 01 D 79852 was continued to August 27, 2004; that the Interveners filed this Motion to Intervene and Motion for Relief from Judgment/Order on July 21, 2004; that there have been several court settings and hearings in the custody action in file no. 01 D 79852 since August 27, 2004; that the Honorable John W. Smith granted the Interveners Motion to Intervene on or about August 20, 2004, based on the assumption that at the time the North Carolina action was filed that the Interveners retained a valid GUARDIANSHIP in the State of Illinois,, (sic) but the Interveners’ Motion for Relief from “Order Assuming Jurisdiction” was CONTINUED until completion of the proceedings in Illinois, which had previously yielded jurisdiction to this Court.
5. That this Court has reviewed the file in this action, all of the orders in Illinois case files, the Guardianship Order from the state of Illinois, and the Orders entered by Judge John W. Smith here in North Carolina.
6. That at the time that Judge Smith heard this matter in North Carolina, there were still matters pending in the State of Illinois and all of Judge Smith’s rulings were dependent on whether or not Illinois was going to continue to maintain jurisdiction over the minor child the subject of this action.
7. That at the time that Judge Smith entered the Order on July 15, 2003 granting the Plaintiff, Ms. Williams, custody of the minor child, there had been an order of May 30, 2003 from the State of Illinois transferring jurisdiction of the case to North Carolina; *407subsequent to that Order, there had also been a court hearing in the State of Illinois which had been brought to the attention of the Illinois Court that there was a guardianship that the ... [paternal] grandparents, and Interveners in this action, Larry Walker and Maria Walker, had since 1993.
8. That there had been some mentioning in one of the Illinois Orders previously of the guardianship, however, the court in Illinois, after having reviewed the guardianship, made the determination at that time that they retained jurisdiction of the case in the State of Illinois.
9. That since that time, and while the minor child . . . was residing in the State of North Carolina, there have been hearings in the State of North Carolina and there have been continuous hearings in the State of Illinois regarding the custody of the child.
10. This Court finds that North Carolina has not had jurisdiction over this case, in that the Court in the State of Illinois determined that they never lost jurisdiction because there were matters of which they were not aware that the order transferring jurisdiction to North Carolina from Illinois; therefore the Court finds that the Order Assuming Jurisdiction must be stayed.
(Emphasis in original).
In the case at hand, the record on appeal supports the trial court’s findings of fact, and in turn the findings of fact support the conclusion of law. Furthermore, the biological mother only assigns error to findings of fact numbers six, eight, and ten. Therefore, the remaining unchallenged findings of fact are binding on appeal. See State v. Eason, 336 N.C. 730, 745, 445 S.E.2d 917, 926 (1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1096, 130 L. Ed. 2d 661 (1995) (providing that the trial court’s findings of fact “are conclusive on appeal if supported by competent evidence, even if the evidence is conflicting.” (citation omitted)); State v. Howell, 343 N.C. 229, 239, 470 S.E.2d 38, 43 (1996) (“Conclusions of law that are correct in light of the findings are also binding on appeal.”) Accordingly, the trial court order should be affirmed.

. See Petersen v. Rogers, 337 N.C. 397, 402-03, 445 S.E.2d 901, 903 (1994) (providing that a parent may no longer enjoy a paramount status if his or her conduct is inconsistent with this presumption or if he or she fails to shoulder the responsibilities that are attendant to rearing a child).