DeLima v. Tsevi , 301 Neb. 933 ( 2018 )


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    DeLIMA v. TSEVI
    Cite as 
    301 Neb. 933
    Kwami M. DeLima, appellant, v.
    A nicette C. Tsevi, appellee.
    ___ N.W.2d ___
    Filed December 21, 2018.   No. S-17-1144.
    1.	 Child Custody: Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. In considering
    whether jurisdiction exists under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction
    and Enforcement Act, a jurisdictional question that does not involve a
    factual dispute is determined by an appellate court as a matter of law,
    which requires an appellate court to reach a conclusion independent
    from the trial court.
    2.	 Statutes: Appeal and Error. Statutory interpretation is a question of
    law, which an appellate court resolves independently of the trial court.
    3.	 Child Custody: Jurisdiction. Jurisdiction over a child custody pro-
    ceeding is governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and
    Enforcement Act.
    4.	 Child Custody: Jurisdiction: States. For a state to have jurisdiction
    to make an initial child custody determination, it must either be the
    “home state” as defined by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and
    Enforcement Act or fall under the limited exceptions to the home state
    requirement specified by the act. Generally speaking, Neb. Rev. Stat.
    § 43-1238(a)(1) (Reissue 2016) grants jurisdiction to the home state
    of the child and § 43-1238(a)(2) through (4) sets out the exceptions
    under which a court will have jurisdiction, even if it is not in the child’s
    home state.
    5.	 Jurisdiction. Parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction upon a
    judicial tribunal by either acquiescence or consent, nor may subject mat-
    ter jurisdiction be created by waiver, estoppel, consent, or conduct of
    the parties.
    Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County: Timothy
    P. Burns, Judge. Affirmed.
    Michael J. Decker for appellant.
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    Julie Fowler, of Fowler & Kelly Law, L.L.P., for appellee.
    Heavican, C.J., Miller-Lerman, Cassel, Stacy, Funke,
    Papik, and Freudenberg, JJ.
    Papik, J.
    Several years after the Douglas County District Court
    awarded custody of the child of Kwami M. DeLima (Kwami)
    and Anicette C. Tsevi (Anicette) to Kwami, the court deter-
    mined that it did not have and never had subject matter juris-
    diction to make custody determinations regarding the child
    and vacated all prior orders pertaining to custody or visita-
    tion. Kwami appeals. We find that the district court correctly
    determined that it did not have and never had subject matter
    jurisdiction to make custody determinations regarding the child
    and therefore affirm.
    BACKGROUND
    In 2009, Kwami filed a complaint in Douglas County
    District Court seeking to dissolve his marriage with Anicette.
    In the complaint for dissolution, he alleged that he and
    Anicette were lawfully married in the nation of Togo in
    1999; that the marriage had produced one minor child, C.D.,
    born in 2003; and that C.D. had resided with C.D.’s maternal
    grandmother, Jeanne Akouvi, in Togo since 2006. The com-
    plaint for dissolution did not ask that either party be awarded
    custody of or visitation with C.D. The subsequent divorce
    decree, which appears to be a form document with informa-
    tion specific to the parties supplied in handwriting, did not
    award either party custody of C.D. The decree does have
    what appears to be a handwritten checkmark next to language
    indicating that “[t]he defendant is awarded reasonable visita-
    tion with the parties’ minor child(ren), upon reasonable notice
    to the plaintiff.”
    Over 2 years later, in July 2011, Kwami filed an applica-
    tion to modify the divorce decree. He alleged that there had
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    been a change in circumstances since the entry of the decree,
    in that Anicette had “taken the parties’ minor child to Togo,
    Africa, and has refused to return the child to [Kwami].” After
    a hearing on the modification application in which Anicette
    did not appear and was not represented by counsel, the district
    court issued an order in June 2012 awarding Kwami sole care,
    custody, and control of C.D. In its order, the court found that
    Anicette had taken C.D. to Togo and had refused to return the
    child to Kwami and that C.D. was not receiving proper medi-
    cal treatment.
    Several years after the decree was modified to award cus-
    tody to Kwami, Anicette filed her own application to modify
    the custody decree. She also filed a motion to vacate the decree
    as it pertained to child custody. In it, she contended that the
    court did not have and never had subject matter jurisdiction to
    decide custody issues concerning C.D. The court set Anicette’s
    application to modify the custody decree for trial. Trial was
    held in September 2017.
    Both Kwami and Anicette testified at the trial, as did other
    witnesses. Both parties also introduced documentary evidence.
    The evidence established that, in 2006, when Kwami and
    Anicette were still married, they agreed to send C.D. to live
    with Akouvi in Togo. Both Kwami and Anicette signed a docu-
    ment at that time stating that they gave permission to let their
    son travel to Togo with Akouvi. The document also purported
    to grant “all and every possible legal right” concerning C.D. to
    Akouvi. Kwami admitted that he agreed to send C.D. to Togo
    to live with Akouvi in 2006.
    C.D. resided with Akouvi in Togo from 2006 until September
    2012. During that time, he attended private school in Togo. He
    also received medical attention in Togo. Anicette’s younger sis-
    ter, who lived with Akouvi and C.D. at the time, testified that
    Akouvi brought C.D. to a hospital and to monthly checkups
    at a medical clinic there. After C.D. had been in Togo several
    years, Anicette gave birth to a second child in Nebraska and,
    shortly thereafter, traveled to Togo with that child. Anicette
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    stayed for several months. When she departed, she also left the
    second child in the care of Akouvi.
    In late 2011, Anicette moved to Togo. Less than a year
    later, in September 2012, she and C.D. moved to Switzerland.
    Anicette and C.D. have resided in Switzerland with her new
    husband since then. C.D. has not been in the United States
    since 2006.
    Following the trial, the district court entered an order vacat-
    ing all prior orders concerning the custody of C.D. It explained
    that Nebraska was not the child’s home state at the time cus-
    tody proceedings were initiated for the purposes of the Uniform
    Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA),
    Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 43-1226 to 43-1266 (Reissue 2016), and
    that, as a result, the court did not have and never had subject
    matter jurisdiction over custody matters. Following the denial
    of his motion for a new trial, Kwami timely appealed.
    ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
    Kwami assigns on appeal that the district court erred by
    finding it never had subject matter jurisdiction under the
    UCCJEA and vacating all prior custody orders on that basis.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    [1,2] In considering whether jurisdiction exists under the
    UCCJEA, a jurisdictional question that does not involve a
    factual dispute is determined by an appellate court as a matter
    of law, which requires an appellate court to reach a conclusion
    independent from the trial court. In re Guardianship of S.T.,
    
    300 Neb. 72
    , 
    912 N.W.2d 262
    (2018). Statutory interpretation
    is a question of law, which an appellate court resolves indepen-
    dently of the trial court. 
    Id. ANALYSIS General
    Statutory Background.
    The question before us is whether the district court ever
    acquired subject matter jurisdiction to determine the cus-
    tody of C.D. We begin by summarizing the statutory
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    background governing subject matter jurisdiction of child cus-
    tody determinations.
    [3] We have previously said that subject matter jurisdiction
    over a child custody proceeding is governed exclusively by
    the UCCJEA. See, e.g., Carter v. Carter, 
    276 Neb. 840
    , 
    758 N.W.2d 1
    (2008). Our use of the word “exclusively” in this
    context was slightly imprecise, because there are other statutes
    outside the UCCJEA that confer jurisdiction to decide child
    custody matters. See, e.g., Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-351 (Reissue
    2016). But while other statutes may confer jurisdiction gener-
    ally, § 42-351 directs courts to determine whether jurisdic-
    tion exists over a specific child custody proceeding under
    the UCCJEA.
    Section 43-1238 of the UCCJEA sets forth the circum-
    stances under which a court of this state has jurisdiction to
    make an initial child custody determination, providing as
    follows:
    (a) Except as otherwise provided in section 43-1241
    [regarding temporary emergency jurisdiction], a court of
    this state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody
    determination only if:
    (1) this state is the home state of the child on the date
    of the commencement of the proceeding or was the home
    state of the child within six months before the commence-
    ment of the proceeding and the child is absent from this
    state but a parent or person acting as a parent continues
    to live in this state;
    (2) a court of another state does not have jurisdiction
    under subdivision (a)(1) of this section, or a court of the
    home state of the child has declined to exercise jurisdic-
    tion on the ground that this state is the more appropriate
    forum under section 43-1244 or 43-1245, and:
    (A) the child and the child’s parents, or the child and
    at least one parent or a person acting as a parent, have
    a significant connection with this state other than mere
    physical presence; and
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    (B) substantial evidence is available in this state con-
    cerning the child’s care, protection, training, and personal
    relationships;
    (3) all courts having jurisdiction under subdivision
    (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section have declined to exercise
    jurisdiction on the ground that a court of this state is the
    more appropriate forum to determine the custody of the
    child under section 43-1244 or 43-1245; or
    (4) no court of any other state would have jurisdiction
    under the criteria specified in subdivision (a)(1), (a)(2), or
    (a)(3) of this section.
    [4] As we have previously explained in cases involving the
    UCCJEA, for a state to have jurisdiction to make an initial
    child custody determination, it must either be the “home state”
    as defined by the UCCJEA or fall under the limited excep-
    tions to the home state requirement specified by the UCCJEA.
    See In re Guardianship of S.T., 
    300 Neb. 72
    , 
    912 N.W.2d 262
    (2018). Generally speaking, § 43-1238(a)(1) grants jurisdiction
    to the home state of the child and § 43-1238(a)(2) through
    (4) sets out the exceptions under which a court will have
    jurisdiction, even if it is not in the child’s home state. In re
    Guardianship of S.T., supra.
    Section 43-1238(a) grants jurisdiction to make an “initial
    child custody determination,” which is defined elsewhere in
    the UCCJEA as the “first child custody determination concern-
    ing a particular child.” § 43-1227(8). Another section of the
    UCCJEA provides that a court that has made an initial child
    custody determination consistent with § 43-1238 has “exclu-
    sive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination” unless the
    court makes certain findings. See § 43-1239.
    Because the analysis required to determine whether a court
    has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination
    differs from the analysis required to determine whether a court
    can exercise its continuing jurisdiction after making an initial
    determination, an evaluation of jurisdiction under the UCCJEA
    will occasionally require a determination of when the initial
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    determination was made. That task is not so straightforward
    in this case.
    One candidate for the initial determination is the 2009
    divorce decree. While the decree did not award custody, there
    does appear to be a handwritten checkmark next to language
    in the decree indicating that the defendant, here Anicette, is
    awarded “reasonable visitation,” the specific terms of which
    are to be determined by the plaintiff, here Kwami, acting in
    good faith. A decree providing for visitation concerning a
    child would ordinarily qualify as a child custody determina-
    tion, see § 43-1227(3), but it is not clear that the checkmark
    on the decree was truly intended to provide for visitation in
    this case. The “visitation” language appears to presuppose that
    Kwami had been granted custody and thus was authorized to
    determine the extent of Anicette’s “visitation,” but, as we have
    noted, the decree did not actually address custody. Perhaps
    in recognition of the questionable nature of any visitation
    provided in the initial decree, Kwami’s counsel characterized
    the decree at oral argument as containing “somewhat of a cus-
    tody determination.”
    If the 2009 divorce decree did not include a child custody
    determination, the initial child custody determination for pur-
    poses of § 43-1238(a)(2) did not occur until the district court
    modified the decree to award Kwami custody in 2012. In the
    end, we find that it is unnecessary to determine when the ini-
    tial determination was made, because we find that the district
    court did not have jurisdiction to make an initial child custody
    determination in either 2009 or 2012. We explain our reasons
    for this conclusion in more detail below.
    Home State Jurisdiction.
    As mentioned above, the UCCJEA generally grants juris-
    diction to the child’s home state. In this case, the district
    court did not have home state jurisdiction to make an initial
    child custody determination, because Nebraska was not C.D.’s
    home state.
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    The UCCJEA defines home state as “the state in which a
    child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for
    at least six consecutive months immediately before the com-
    mencement of a child custody proceeding.” § 43-1227(7). As
    even Kwami concedes, the fact that C.D. was living in Togo
    beginning in 2006 precludes any possibility of a Nebraska
    court obtaining jurisdiction on the basis of home state status.
    “Last Resort” Jurisdiction.
    Rather than relying on § 43-1238(a)(1), Kwami argues that
    the court had jurisdiction to make an initial determination
    under § 43-1238(a)(4), a basis for jurisdiction not explicitly
    considered by the district court. A Nebraska court has juris-
    diction to make an initial child custody determination under
    § 43-1238(a)(4) if “no court of any other state would have
    jurisdiction under the criteria specified in subdivision (a)(1),
    (a)(2), or (a)(3) of [§ 43-1238].” This is referred to by one
    court as “last resort” jurisdiction. See Madrone v. Madrone,
    
    290 P.3d 478
    (Colo. 2012).
    Viewed on the surface, this argument might appear to have
    merit, because Kwami is correct that the record discloses
    no other state in the United States that might have jurisdic-
    tion. Left unmentioned by Kwami, however, is the fact that
    the UCCJEA provides that foreign countries like Togo are to
    be treated as if they were states of the United States unless
    their child custody law violates “fundamental principles of
    human rights.” See, Carter v. Carter, 
    276 Neb. 840
    , 846, 
    758 N.W.2d 1
    , 7 (2008); § 43-1230(a) through (c). Because there
    is no suggestion that the child custody law of Togo violates
    fundamental human rights, jurisdiction under § 43-1238(a)(4)
    depends on whether a court of Togo would have had jurisdic-
    tion to make an initial child custody determination under the
    criteria set forth in either subdivision (a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3).
    If a court of Togo would have had such jurisdiction, it cannot
    be said no court of any other “state” would have jurisdiction,
    and therefore the district court would not have last resort
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    jurisdiction. See, e.g., Gerhauser v. Van Bourgondien, 
    238 N.C. App. 275
    , 
    767 S.E.2d 378
    (2014) (holding that because
    courts in Utah or Florida would have had jurisdiction to make
    initial child custody determination, North Carolina court could
    not exercise jurisdiction under North Carolina version of
    § 43-1238(a)(4)).
    Before proceeding to consider whether a court of Togo
    would have jurisdiction to make an initial determination of
    custody, we pause to clarify the precise nature of our inquiry.
    For multiple reasons, we will not explore the laws of Togo to
    decide whether it would have been permissible for a court in
    that country to make a child custody determination under the
    circumstances in this case. First, as a general matter, we are not
    authorized to take judicial notice of the laws of foreign coun-
    tries and, if, as here, the law of a foreign country is not pleaded
    and proved like any other fact, we presume it to be the same as
    the law of Nebraska. See, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-12,105 (Reissue
    2016); Molina v. Sovereign Camp, W. O. W., 
    6 F.R.D. 385
    (D.
    Neb. 1947); Exstrum v. Union Casualty & Life Ins. Co., 
    167 Neb. 150
    , 
    91 N.W.2d 632
    (1958).
    In addition, § 43-1238(a)(4) provides for jurisdiction if
    “no court of any other state would have jurisdiction under
    the criteria specified in subdivision (a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3)
    of [§ 43-1238].” (Emphasis supplied.) Section 43-1238(a)(4)
    thus directs us to consider whether a court of Togo would have
    jurisdiction under the UCCJEA, as opposed to requiring us to
    attempt to ascertain and apply the law of Togo to the extent it
    might differ from the UCCJEA.
    We begin our analysis as to whether a court of Togo would
    have had jurisdiction with the question of whether Togo quali-
    fied as C.D.’s home state under § 43-1238(a)(1). As noted
    above, § 43-1238(a)(1) generally authorizes the exercise of
    jurisdiction by a court in the home state of the child. The home
    state of the child is defined as “the state in which a child lived
    with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six
    consecutive months immediately before the commencement of
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    a child custody proceeding.” § 43-1227(7). Since C.D. lived in
    Togo with Akouvi from 2006 to 2012, there is no question that
    he lived in Togo long enough for that to be his home state. Less
    clear, however, is whether Akouvi was a “person acting as a
    parent” for purposes of the UCCJEA.
    Under § 43-1227(13) of the UCCJEA, a person acting as a
    parent is
    a person, other than a parent, who:
    (A) has physical custody of the child or has had
    physical custody for a period of six consecutive months,
    including any temporary absence, within one year imme-
    diately before the commencement of a child custody pro-
    ceeding; and
    (B) has been awarded legal custody by a court or
    claims a right to legal custody under the law of this state.
    While the record indicates that Akouvi had the requisite physi-
    cal custody of the child in order to qualify as a “person act-
    ing as a parent,” under § 43-1227(13)(A), it is not clear that
    she would qualify under either of the legal custody prongs of
    § 43-1227(13)(B). There is no indication in the record that she
    was ever awarded legal custody of the child by a court or even
    “claim[ed] a right to legal custody.”
    If Akouvi did not qualify as a “person acting as a par-
    ent,” a court of Togo could not exercise jurisdiction under
    § 43-1238(a)(1). However, we need not resolve whether the
    action could have been brought in Togo under § 43-1238(a)(1),
    because even if it could not, we find that the action could have
    been brought in Togo under one of the exceptions to home
    state jurisdiction.
    As noted above, § 43-1238(a)(2) through (4) sets out the
    exceptions under which the court will have jurisdiction even
    if it is not the child’s home state. Jurisdiction exists under
    § 43-1238(a)(2) if no court has jurisdiction as the child’s home
    state and the following are true:
    (A) the child and the child’s parents, or the child and
    at least one parent or a person acting as a parent, have
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    a significant connection with this state other than mere
    physical presence; and
    (B) substantial evidence is available in this state con-
    cerning the child’s care, protection, training, and personal
    relationships.
    This basis for jurisdiction under the UCCJEA is commonly
    referred to as “significant connection” jurisdiction. See, e.g.,
    Madrone v. Madrone, 
    290 P.3d 478
    (Colo. 2012).
    Even if a court in Togo could not have exercised jurisdic-
    tion as C.D.’s home state, we find that it could have exercised
    significant connection jurisdiction, because all of the necessary
    elements were present to do so. First, assuming Togo could
    not have exercised jurisdiction as C.D.’s home state, no court
    would have home state jurisdiction. As we have explained,
    Nebraska did not qualify as C.D.’s home state.
    Next, we find that both Anicette and C.D. had a significant
    connection to Togo. When tasked with deciding whether an
    individual has a significant connection to a state for purposes
    of this section of the UCCJEA, courts consider a wide variety
    of ties to the state.
    “Some factors that have been weighed in these cases are
    the child’s relationship with extended or blended family
    members, enrollment in school or day care, participation
    in social activities, access to medical, dental or psycho-
    logical care, or the availability of government assistance.
    Some courts will mention the parent’s employment or
    family ties.”
    J.H. v. C.Y., 
    161 So. 3d 233
    , 241 (Ala. Civ. App. 2014), quot-
    ing Annot., 
    52 A.L.R. 6th 433
    (2010).
    For instance, in In re Marriage of Diaz, 
    363 Ill. App. 3d 1091
    , 
    845 N.E.2d 935
    , 
    301 Ill. Dec. 70
    (2006), an Illinois
    appellate court found that a mother and child had a significant
    connection to Illinois, based on the facts that the mother was
    married in Illinois; she and her child had periodically resided
    in Illinois; the mother relied upon her mother, also an Illinois
    resident, to care for the child; and the mother intended to
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    take advantage of various opportunities in Illinois. Similarly,
    in Matter of Marriage of Schwartz and Battini, 
    289 Or. App. 332
    , 
    410 P.3d 319
    (2017), an Oregon appellate court found
    that a mother and a child had a significant connection to
    Oregon, based on the facts that the mother was from Oregon;
    the child was born and had a doctor there; and the child’s
    maternal grandparents, with whom the child had spent signifi-
    cant time, spent half the year there. And finally, in Breselor v.
    Arciniega, 
    123 A.D.3d 1413
    , 
    1 N.Y.S.3d 413
    (2014), a New
    York court found that a mother and her child had a significant
    connection to New York, based on the facts that the mother
    and child resided in New York previously, the child visited
    her grandparents in New York previously, and the child had
    relationships with her grandparents and other extended family
    members in New York.
    Informed by the basis upon which other courts have found
    a significant connection, we find that both C.D. and Anicette
    had a significant connection to Togo. With respect to C.D.,
    there is no doubt he had a significant connection. He resided
    with family members in the country continuously from 2006
    to 2012 and attended school and received medical attention
    there. We also find that Anicette had a significant connection
    to Togo. She was married in Togo. And while she later moved
    to Nebraska, she continued to have significant connections to
    Togo even when she lived in Nebraska. Those connections
    included family living in Togo; the record indicates at least
    her mother and sister lived there. In addition, and perhaps
    most important, Anicette voluntarily sent C.D. to live in Togo
    with Akouvi while she remained in Nebraska. Based on all
    these facts, we find that Anicette had a significant connection
    to Togo.
    Finally, it is clear from the record that substantial evi-
    dence concerning C.D.’s care, protection, training, and per-
    sonal relationships was available in Togo. Indeed, given the
    fact that C.D. had lived in Togo from 2006 to 2012, substan-
    tial evidence on these subjects would not have been available
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    anywhere else. In any case, the record indicates that C.D.
    attended school in Togo, that he received medical attention at
    both a hospital and medical clinic in Togo, that he had friends
    in Togo, and that his primary caregiver, Akouvi, resided in
    Togo. On this basis, we conclude there was substantial evi-
    dence in Togo regarding C.D.’s care, protection, training, and
    personal relationships.
    Based on the foregoing, we find that even if a court in Togo
    would not have had jurisdiction to make an initial custody
    determination under § 43-1238(a)(1), it would have had signif-
    icant connection jurisdiction to make an initial child custody
    determination under § 43-1238(a)(2). And because a court
    in Togo would have had jurisdiction under § 43-1238(a)(2),
    the district court did not have last resort jurisdiction under
    § 43-1238(a)(4). See, e.g., Gerhauser v. Van Bourgondien, 
    238 N.C. App. 275
    , 
    767 S.E.2d 378
    (2014).
    District Court’s Order Vacating
    All Prior Custody Orders.
    At oral argument, counsel for Kwami contended that even
    if a child custody proceeding could have initially been brought
    in Togo, the district court should not have found a lack
    of jurisdiction, because at the time the custody proceed-
    ings were commenced, both Kwami and Anicette lived in
    Nebraska and chose to litigate the issues in the district court.
    Counsel additionally pointed out that C.D.’s custody has been
    litigated in the district court for 9 years but that as a result
    of the district court’s most recent order, it has still not
    been resolved.
    [5] All of this appears to be true, but it does not affect
    whether the district court acquired subject matter jurisdiction.
    If a court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, it lacks the power
    to determine the case. See J.S. v. Grand Island Public Schools,
    
    297 Neb. 347
    , 
    899 N.W.2d 893
    (2017). Accordingly, par-
    ties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction upon a judicial
    tribunal by either acquiescence or consent, nor may subject
    - 946 -
    Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets
    301 Nebraska R eports
    DeLIMA v. TSEVI
    Cite as 
    301 Neb. 933
    matter jurisdiction be created by waiver, estoppel, consent, or
    conduct of the parties. 
    Id. That the
    parties litigated this case in the district court for
    some time is thus irrelevant to whether the district court had
    subject matter jurisdiction. The district court’s authority to
    decide C.D.’s custody is determined by the UCCJEA, and for
    reasons we have explained, the UCCJEA did not give it the
    power to do so. When a court acts without subject matter juris-
    diction, its actions are void. See J.S. v. Grand Island Public
    
    Schools, supra
    .
    So while it is certainly regrettable that the significant time
    and energy devoted to litigating C.D.’s custody in the district
    court was all for naught, upon its correct determination that
    it never had subject matter jurisdiction, the district court had
    no choice but to vacate its prior custody orders. See In re
    C and M Properties, L.L.C., 
    563 F.3d 1156
    , 1167-68 (10th Cir.
    2009) (holding that action must be dismissed for lack of sub-
    ject matter jurisdiction despite court’s being “loathe to add to
    the duration and complexity of an already overlong and overly
    complex matter, let alone to deliver the unwelcome news that
    the parties have been litigating in vain in federal court for over
    four years based on a mistaken premise”).
    CONCLUSION
    Because the district court never acquired subject matter
    jurisdiction of the custody of C.D., any actions regarding his
    custody were void. The district court thus correctly vacated
    any orders pertaining to C.D.’s custody or visitation, and
    we affirm.
    A ffirmed.