Ex parte Jordan Anderson PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

Rel: May 19, 2023
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter.
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ALABAMA COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS
OCTOBER TERM, 2022-2023
_________________________
CL-2023-0225
_________________________
Ex parte Jordan Anderson
PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
(In re: Jordan Latrielle Singh Anderson
v.
Giovanni Guerrero)
(Madison Circuit Court, DR-23-900285)
_________________________
CL-2023-0226
_________________________
Ex parte Alexis Valentin
PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
(In re: Alexis Valentin
CL-2023-0225 and CL-2023-0226
v.
Celine Raquel Draper)
(Madison Circuit Court, DR-23-900254)
FRIDY, Judge.
These petitions for writs of mandamus arise from two actions that,
as is relevant to this opinion, are in the same procedural posture. The
petitioners seek the same relief in each petition -- that this court vacate
orders of the Madison Circuit Court ("the circuit court") transferring each
action to the Madison Juvenile Court ("the juvenile court"). At the
petitioners' request, this court consolidated the petitions. For the reasons
discussed herein, we grant the petitions.
Background
In petition number CL-2023-0225, Jordan Latrielle Singh Anderson
commenced an action in the circuit court seeking an adjudication of
paternity of the child she asserts that she had with Giovanni Guerrero,
to whom she has never been married but with whom she had a romantic
relationship. She also requested sole legal and sole physical custody of
the child and sought an award of child support from Guerrero.
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CL-2023-0225 and CL-2023-0226
In petition number CL-2023-0226, Alexis Valentin commenced an
action in the circuit court seeking an adjudication of paternity of two
children born to Celine Raquel Draper, with whom he had had sexual
relations but to whom he was not married. In his action, Valentin sought
joint legal and joint physical custody of the children.
The circuit court entered orders in both cases on April 3, 2023,
transferring the actions to the juvenile court. In the orders, which are
identical, the juvenile court observed that paternity was "the primary
issue" in both cases. It stated: "While both the Circuit and the Juvenile
court may adjudicate paternity, the Juvenile Court is the Court of
original jurisdiction in Alabama for the establishment of paternity." The
circuit court also noted that the juvenile court was "an appropriate court"
to address custody of the children involved.
On April 13, 2023, Anderson and Valentin, who are represented by
the same attorney, filed their respective petitions for a writ of
mandamus, which are virtually identical.
Analysis
A petition for a writ of mandamus is an appropriate means to seek
to set aside an allegedly improper order transferring a case to another
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CL-2023-0225 and CL-2023-0226
court within the same county. Ex parte N.G., 321 So. 3d 655, 657 (Ala.
2020).
"Mandamus is a drastic and extraordinary writ, to be
issued only where there is (1) a clear legal right in the
petitioner to the order sought; (2) an imperative duty upon the
respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; (3)
the lack of another adequate remedy; and (4) properly invoked
jurisdiction of the court."
Ex parte Integon Corp., 672 So. 2d 497, 499 (Ala.1995).
In their petitions for writs of mandamus, Anderson and Valentin
contend that the circuit court's orders transferring their actions to the
juvenile court deprive them of their right to choose the forum in which
their paternity and custody actions are to be adjudicated. In support of
their argument, they assert that the circuit court lacked the authority to
transfer their actions to the juvenile court and that the circuit court had
a "duty to sit" once Anderson and Valentin filed their actions in a court
that properly has jurisdiction over paternity and custody in these cases.
In Gurganus v. Clay, [Ms. 2210466, Sept. 16, 2022] ___ So. 3d ___
(Ala. Civ. App. 2022), this court observed that § 12-15-115(a)(6), Ala.
Code 1975, provides that juvenile courts shall exercise original
jurisdiction -- rather than exclusive jurisdiction -- over proceedings to
establish the parentage of a child pursuant to the Alabama Uniform
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CL-2023-0225 and CL-2023-0226
Parentage Act ("the AUPA"), § 26-17-101 et seq., Ala. Code 1975. This
court noted that § 26-17-104, Ala. Code 1975, a part of the AUPA,
provides, in pertinent part, that "[a] circuit or district court of this state
or any other court of this state, as provided by law, shall have original
jurisdiction to adjudicate parentage pursuant to [the AUPA] and may
determine issues of custody, support, and visitation incidental to a
determination of parentage." See also Ex parte F.T.G., 199 So. 3d 82, 86
(Ala. Civ. App. 2015) (holding that "under present law, juvenile courts,
district courts, and circuit courts have concurrent jurisdiction to
adjudicate issues of parentage and to adjudicate issues of custody,
visitation, and child support incidental to an adjudication of parentage").
Here, the circuit court had jurisdiction over Anderson's and
Valentin's actions seeking the adjudication of paternity and the
incidental issues of custody, visitation, and child support. It was not
authorized by statute to transfer the actions to the juvenile court. Cf. §
12-11-11, Ala. Code 1975 (allowing the transfer of a case within the same
county when it appears that it should have been brought in another court
in that county). Therefore, Anderson and Valentin are entitled to have
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CL-2023-0225 and CL-2023-0226
their actions heard in the circuit court, and their respective petitions for
a writ of mandamus are due to be granted.
CL-2023-0225 -- PETITION GRANTED; WRIT ISSUED.
CL-2023-0226 -- PETITION GRANTED; WRIT ISSUED.
Thompson, P.J., and Moore, Edwards, and Hanson, JJ., concur.
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