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Johnson v. Johnson9/14/2000
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VI.
[ ] Jessica Clayton is not a party to the divorce . See 24 Am. Jur. 2d Divorce and Separation § 225, 391 (1998) (a child is not a party to a divorce action) (citation omitted). It is undisputed that Jessica Clayton has no consanguineous relation to Antonyio Johnson. "Given that the paramount goal in any divorce proceeding is the just and equitable resolution of the interests and rights of the divorcing spouses, the asserted interests of third parties in marital property are best resolved in legal actions separate and apart from the divorce proceeding." 24 Am. Jur. 2d Divorce and Separation § 232, 395 (1998) (citing Boyle v. Boyle, 194 W. Va. 124, 459 S.E.2d 401 (1995)).
[ ] Third parties who may have a legally enforceable interest in the proceeding may intervene. Id.; see also N.D.R.Civ.P. 24; but see Fisher v. Fisher, 546 N.W.2d 354 (N.D. 1996); Fisher v. Fisher, 1997 ND 176, 568 N.W.2d 728 (adult children not entitled to intervene in parents' divorce action due to inadequacy of interest). A third party may also join the proceedings. See N.D.R.Civ.P. 19. However, under Rule 19 of the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure, for a party to join an action, the joining party must be one who is subject to service of process and the joinder cannot deprive the court of jurisdiction. See also N.D.R.Civ.P. 20 (allowing permissive joinder of parties).
[ ] "Necessary" or "indispensable" parties must be joined in the action. N.D.R.Civ.P. 19. If full relief can be provided to the parties by the court, a third party is not necessary or indispensable. Id. Because Jessica Clayton is not related to Antonyio Johnson, if she were unable to intervene or join in the divorce proceedings, she could assert her purported equitable contract interests in an action "separate and apart from the divorce proceedings." 24 Am. Jur. 2d Divorce and Separation § 232, 395 (1998) (citing Boyle v. Boyle, 194 W. Va. 124, 459 S.E.2d 401 (1995)).
A.
[ ] Unlike a natural child, an adopted child, or even a stepchild, because Jessica Clayton was not a party to the divorce action, and because she did not intervene or join the litigation, her purported contract claim is separate and distinct from the divorce proceeding. The district court must have both personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction to enforce Jessica Clayton's contract claim.
[ ] It is clear that Jessica Clayton could consent to the assertion of the district court's personal jurisdiction. There is, however, no indication in the record that she has consented to jurisdiction. Jessica Clayton was never a party to this divorce action, she was never served with process, and she was never subject to the district court's jurisdictional determination. Jessica Clayton has never lived in North Dakota. The underlying contract claim arose in either New Jersey or Kentucky, and the record is devoid of other facts that would suggest Jessica Clayton is subject to an assertion of personal jurisdiction by the district court under any long-arm provision. Because Jessica Clayton did not join in the litigation, the district court was without jurisdiction to adjudicate her claim.
[ ] Our statutes provide for appointing a guardian ad litem or representative for a minor seeking to enforce a contract claim in court. N.D.C.C. § 14-10-04. Here, no such appointment was made. By failing to appoint a representative to protect her interests, any adjudication of Jessica Clayton's claims would also be statutorily impermissible.
B.
[ ] The district court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter of Jessica Clayton's contract claim. As noted, the contract arose in either New Jersey or Ken
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