Winning the Race to the Courthouse: The Principle of Priority

Legal firm and attorney names have been replaced with placeholders. In this article, a famous celebrity is being sued for breach of contract by a music producer. The producer claims the celebrity didn’t fulfill their end of a deal to record an album. The lawsuit is ongoing, and both parties are trying to reach a settlement. When two courts have the power to decide a case, the court that gets the case first usually gets to go ahead with it. This is called the “principle of priority.” It can apply to all kinds of cases, not just family disputes. Sometimes, a court might choose to wait if the same case is already being decided in another court, as a sign of respect. But there can be exceptions, like if waiting too long would cause problems. It’s not just in the US – courts in different countries can also decide to wait for each other. One recent case involved a man who moved from Maryland to Florida and died there. His daughter in Maryland wanted the case to be decided in her state, but the Florida court said no. The court pointed out that a lot had already been done in Florida and waiting would make everything more complicated and expensive. In the Maraj v. Maraj case, the husband wanted to stop the divorce case in Florida because he had already filed for divorce in Trinidad and Tobago. But the court said no because the family had been living in Florida for a long time, had a business there, and owned a lot of property in Florida. The court also said that the Florida case was asking for different things than the Trinidad case. So, the Florida case could continue. The Maraj court considered whether two similar lawsuits should be given priority. In Florida, the lawsuits don’t have to be exactly the same, just substantially similar. For example, divorce and separate maintenance suits are considered similar enough for priority to apply. But in some cases, a Florida court might not give priority if it goes against Florida’s laws or policies. So, if someone sues in a foreign court with very different laws, a Florida court might not give priority if it goes against Florida’s laws or policies. The principle of priority means that if two courts have jurisdiction over a case, the one where the case was filed first gets to handle it. However, this only applies if both courts actually have the authority to hear the case. In some situations, like in family law cases, there are specific laws that determine which court should handle the case first. These laws also impact the principle of priority and determine when a court has the authority to hear a case. The UCCJEA says that a child’s “home state” is where they have lived with a parent for at least 6 months before a custody case starts. The court in that state has the first right to make a decision about custody. If the child hasn’t lived in any state for 6 months, then the state where the child has the strongest connection and where there is important information about their care and relationships can also make a decision. If someone files for child support in another state, Florida can only start a case if their filing happens before the deadline to respond in the other state. Also, the other state’s authority must be challenged on time, and if children are involved, Florida must be their main state. If someone files for child custody in Florida, but the other parent files for custody in another state first, the Florida court may not be able to hear the case. This is also true for custody cases filed in other countries. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as if the other case is ended or put on hold, or if it’s more convenient for the case to be heard in Florida. If there are custody cases in both Florida and another state or country, Florida lawyers can ask for the Florida case to be put on hold and argue that it’s better for the case to be heard somewhere else. The UCCJEA has a principle of giving priority to the state where a custody case is first filed, but there are exceptions. One exception is when there’s an emergency, like a child being abandoned or abused. Another factor that affects custody cases is that once a court has jurisdiction, it’s not easily lost, even if the child moves to a new state. The goal of these rules is to avoid conflicts between different courts and use resources efficiently. So, a lawyer who knows these rules can help their client get the best outcome in a custody case. In some cases, when a lawsuit is dismissed with prejudice (meaning it can’t be brought to court again), it might not be fair because the issue might not be resolved in another court. So, the “with prejudice” part might be taken out to allow the matter to be brought to court again if it’s not resolved elsewhere. These cases show that when two lawsuits are filed in different places but involve the same parties and issues, the court may decide to pause one of the lawsuits and let the other one go first. This is called a stay. In one case, a Florida lawsuit was paused because a similar lawsuit was already happening in Massachusetts. In another case, a Florida lawsuit was paused in favor of a lawsuit in Georgia. This is done to avoid having the same issues decided in two different places at the same time. If a husband files for divorce in one county and the wife files for separation in another county, the court where the divorce was filed first gets to decide the case. This prevents unnecessary lawsuits and makes sure everything is fair and just. This is supported by past court cases, such as Martinez v. Martinez and Graham v. Graham. These are Florida court cases that deal with recognizing judgments from other countries or states. They show that Florida courts will not recognize judgments that go against Florida’s public policy, such as custody decisions that don’t consider the best interests of the children. Some laws in Florida also govern how foreign judgments can be enforced in the state. These are references to specific laws in Florida related to family and marital issues. The laws cover things like jurisdiction in custody cases and procedures for handling simultaneous legal proceedings in different states. The information is provided by a lawyer who has been practicing family law for many years. These laws are important for making sure that family and marital legal matters are handled fairly and according to the rules.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/winning-the-race-to-the-courthouse-the-principle-of-priority/