State ex rel. Morenz v. Kerr

{¶ 1} In this case, we hold that an Ohio court patently and unambiguously lacks jurisdiction to proceed in a child-custody case commenced when a child-custody case is already pending in a court of another state and that court is exercising jurisdiction consistently with the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (“PKPA”), Section 1738A, Title 28, U.S.Code, and the state’s version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (“UCCJA”).

{¶ 2} On May 21, 1993, relator, Denise Patricia Morenz, and Daniel William Payne were divorced in the Circuit Court of Brooke County, West Virginia. The *149West…