Welch-Doden v. Roberts
Arizona Court of Appeals
42 P.3d 1166 (2002)
After moving repeatedly between Arizona and Oklahoma, the mother (plaintiff) filed for divorce and custody in Arizona while the father (defendant) filed in Oklahoma about two weeks later; the Arizona court found Oklahoma had home-state jurisdiction and dismissed the mother's petition, after which the Oklahoma court granted the father a divorce and custody. The mother sought a special action in the Arizona Court of Appeals, arguing the child had no home state under the statute's literal definition, so Arizona should be able to exercise jurisdiction based on the child's connections there.
Whether, where the UCCJEA's provisions defining and establishing jurisdiction over a child's home state appear to conflict, the conflict should be resolved by considering the child's best interests rather than construing the statute to promote the UCCJEA's purpose.