2024-CA-0496
Jefferson Circuit Court
Kentucky Court of Appeals
Opinion by Judge Combs
Date Rendered: January 17, 2025
Former Wife filed civil suit against Former Husband for indemnification from a tax obligation which arose out of funds misappropriated by Former Husband, willful interference with her custody of the parties’ children, and the tort of outrage in the Jefferson County Circuit Court. Former Husband argued that the Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction because the claims arose out of the former marriage between the parties and were subjects of ongoing litigation in the Jefferson Family Court.
The Jefferson Circuit Court dismissed the case with prejudice on the basis that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction as the claims fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Jefferson Family Court. Former Wife appealed.
The Court of Appeals held that the Circuit Court did not err by concluding that Jefferson Family Court was the proper forum for the claims, but that transfer of the action to Family Court rather than dismissal was the correct disposition of the action. The Court of Appeals did not decide conclusively whether the Circuit Court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction in this case because the general jurisdiction of the family court extends broadly. The Court of Appeals applied the law in such a way that ensured that the purposes underlying the creation of the family courts were respected: namely, to consolidate litigation and controversies related to a family into one court.
Digested by Emily T. Cecconi