SYLLABUS

(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).

Julie Greely v. Sean Greely (A-54-2007)

Argued March 10, 2008 – Decided March 19, 2008

PER CURIAM

This appeal presents limited questions concerning the procedures to be followed in seeking a voluntary dismissal of a complaint for divorce or, in the alternative, dismissal by the plaintiff of that complaint under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

The parties were married in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1989. Approximately six years later, they moved with their infant daughter to Summit, New Jersey. A son was born in 1997. In 2003, defendant, having lost his job in New Jersey, secured employment in California that required his presence there at intervals for periods of up to three months. He maintained a small apartment there and commuted between California and New Jersey, spending significant blocks of time in New Jersey as a “stay-at-home dad.” The marriage deteriorated and, in May 2006, plaintiff and defendant separated. Plaintiff and the children remained in New Jersey where the children attended school, maintained their friends and social support structure, and received medical attention. In short, their lives were in New Jersey.