Upson v. Wallace

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Argued January 26, 2010

Before KRAMER and FISHER, Associate Judges, and KING, Senior Judge.

These nine consolidated appeals and cross-appeal stem from protracted and contentious litigation surrounding the custody of Georgiana Rose Wallace, the daughter of William Wallace and Deanne Upson, who was born on May 30, 2004, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, nine months after her parents engaged in a brief intimate relationship. Because of the lengthy and confusing procedural history of this case, this opinion is divided into two sections, one dealing with the “D.C. Child Support Case,” and the other dealing with the “Child Custody Proceedings in D.C. and Virginia.” The central issues to be decided in this appeal are: (1) whether the District of Columbia had subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate Upson’s petition for child support under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act; (2) whether the pendente lite child support order awarding Upson $4,000 per month was an abuse of discretion; (3) whether the trial court erred by dismissing Upson’s 2007 Complaint for Custody in the District of Columbia for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act; and (4) whether Wallace, as a pro se attorney litigant, is entitled to receive an award of attorney’s fees under Super. Ct. Dom. Rel. R. 11 or pursuant to the inherent power of the court. We affirm all of the challenged orders and judgments on appeal, except for the two that grant attorney’s fees to Wallace.

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