In Re Marriage of Doehner

Petitioner, Craig Doehner, appeals from an order of the trial court denying his motion to dismiss the petition to modify child custody filed by respondent, Nancy Cull. The issue presented is whether the trial court’s decision not to decline jurisdiction on the basis of forum non conveniens was an abuse of discretion. We conclude that it was.

The parties were married in 1975. The parties’ only child, Kathleen Doehner, was bom April 29, 1979, in Richmond, Virginia. Following the birth, the family moved to North Carolina. On November 1, 1983, a judgment of dissolution of marriage was entered in…