In a Decision – P.H. v. L.W.,, >> the Court Held:
The Appellate Division determined that the children had not resided in New Jersey for six months prior to plaintiff's suit. The court further noted that the parties and children had long been absent from New Jersey and lacked a significant connection; with the lack of substantial relevant evidence present in New Jersey, the court ruled that the state had become an inconvenient forum.
Defendant, originally a resident of South Dakota, met plaintiff in Chicago; they continued their relationship in South Dakota, where defendant became pregnant with the parties' twin daughters. Plaintiff later returned to his home in New York, while defendant and the children remained in South Dakota. Defendant and the children moved east to live with plaintiff, initially living in New York. All parties moved to New Jersey after plaintiff leased a house. Plaintiff allegedly continued acts of domestic violence against defendant, leading her to file a domestic violence complaint. Defendant subsequently left New Jersey with the parties' children and returned to South Dakota; plaintiff returned to New York. The New Jersey court ordered defendant to return to New Jersey with the children for paternity testing, concluding that it had home state jurisdiction; the South Dakota court deferred to New Jersey.
The children arrived in New Jersey on July 18, 2015. They left with defendant on January 13, 2016, five days short of six months.
By the time defendant sought an order dismissing the case in April 2017, neither party nor the children had been in New Jersey for almost a year and a half.