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363 N.C. 116

In re N.C.H.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

Decided March 20, 2009

Supreme Court of North Carolina · decided 2009-03-20

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently March 2010

4 state decisions

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“service of the summons on any particular party is necessary to invoke the trial court's subject matter jurisdiction.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including In Re NEL

Relies on In Re JAP · In Re JT · In re J.T. (I)

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2009-03-20

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

PER CURIAM.

¶1The result reached by the Court of Appeals is affirmed. However, in light of our opinion in In re J.T. (I), 363 N.C. 1, 672 S.E.2d 17 (2009), the following language from the Court of Appeals’ opinion is specifically disavowed: “[S]ervice [of the summons] on the guardian ad litem constitutes service on the juvenile, which is sufficient to establish subject matter jurisdiction when combined with naming the juvenile in the caption of the summons.” In re N.C.H., G.D.H., D.G.H., 192 N.C. App. 445, 446, 665 S.E.2d 812, 813 (2008) (citing In re J.A.P., I.M.P., 189 N.C. App. 683, 686-87, 659 S.E.2d 14, 17 (2008)). It is true in termination of parental rights cases that service of the summons on the juvenile is accomplished through the juvenile’s guardian ad litem “if one has been appointed.” N.C.G.S. § 7B-1106(a) (2007). We reject the notion, though, that service of the summons on any particular party is necessary to invoke the trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction. In re J.T. (I), 363 N.C. at 4, 672 S.E.2d at 19 (“[T]he trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction was properly invoked upon the issuance of a summons.” (emphasis added)).

¶2AFFIRMED.

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