In Re Marriage of Taschen

Angelika Taschen, a German citizen, filed a petition for dissolution of her marriage to Benedikt Taschen, also a German citizen, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Angelika later moved to dismiss or stay the dissolution action on the grounds that Los Angeles is an inconvenient forum. The trial court granted the motion and stayed the action, and Benedikt appeals.

After rejecting Angelika’s argument that the appeal is untimely, we hold that because Angelika is a party to the dissolution action, she had a statutory right to bring a forum non conveniens motion, and her motion was not barred by waiver or judicial estoppel. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting Angelika’s motion, so we affirm the trial court’s order.

BACKGROUND

Angelika and Benedikt are citizens of Germany. They were married in Europe on September 23, 1996. Benedikt is the president of Taschen GmbH, a company headquartered in Germany but with offices in several other countries, including the United States. Angelika has been employed by Taschen GmbH for the last 17 years. Angelika and Benedikt own two homes in Los Angeles, and for several years they have lived part time in Germany and…