Cruz v. Cumba-Ortiz

{¶ 1} This case arises out of a dispute regarding the amount of child-support arrearage that appellee, Luis Cumba-Ortiz, owes appellant, Lillian Rivera Cruz, under a 1971 Puerto Rico divorce decree. Ms. Cruz contends that a 1994 federal support statute and a 1998 Ohio law, which address enforcement of multiple child-support orders, cannot be retroactively applied to nullify the arrearage due under the child-support order issued in 1971. Mr. Cumba-Ortiz contends that the two statutes must be applied retroactively, and thus a 1976 New York support order divested Puerto Rico of jurisdiction to…