Document Type

Case Summary

Publication Date

8-18-2022

Case Synopsis

The court ruled that the statutory language found in NRS 125A.465, Nevada’s codification of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), is unambiguous and that its plain meaning applies as written. The court specifically addressed the timeline in which parties with existing custody or visitation rights can challenge new registrations of custody orders seeking to amend or alter existing orders. Appellants attempted to block the Nevada registration of an updated child custody determination ordered by a neighboring Tribal Court, by filing a challenge to the registration twenty-four days after receiving notice, four days after the allowable time requirement. The district court confirmed the registration by concluding that the neighboring jurisdiction had exclusive authority to amend the child custody determination. On appeal, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the confirmation of the registration after holding that the language in NRS 125A.465, requiring challenges to be made within twenty days of notice, was unambiguous and would be applied as written. Therefore, the statutory twenty-day challenge window was intended to be strictly enforced, the appellants untimely challenge mandated a confirmation of the order as a matter of law , and once confirmed by the district court, any further arguments which could have been brought during the twenty-day window were precluded from appellate challenge.

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