Whether the claim for damages against a third party caused by divorce falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the family court (affirmative)

Article 2(1)(a)(c)(2) of the Family Litigation Act

Plaintiff

Defendant (Law Firm Han, Attorneys Yellow-hwan et al., Counsel for the defendant-appellant)

Seoul Western District Court Decision 2008Na607 Decided November 26, 2009

The judgment of the court of first instance is reversed, and the judgment is revoked. The case is transferred to the Seoul Family Court.

We examine the grounds of appeal ex officio prior to judgment.

A claim for damages caused by divorce, including a claim against a third party, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of a family litigation case under Article 2(1)(a)(c)(2) of the Family Litigation Act, which falls under the jurisdiction of a family court.

However, according to the reasoning of the judgment of the court of first instance cited by the court below, the plaintiff's claim of this case against the defendant is a claim for damages for the payment of consolation money of 30 million won and delay damages on the ground that the plaintiff's marital relationship has broken down due to an unlawful act between the defendant and the plaintiff's spouse by agreement with the plaintiff's spouse. Such claim constitutes a claim for damages against the third party caused by divorce, and it falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the family court.

Therefore, since the lawsuit of this case filed with the Seoul Western District Court was brought in violation of the exclusive jurisdiction, the court below should revoke the judgment of the first instance court that judged the claim of this case and transfer the case to the Seoul Family Court, which is the general forum of the defendant. The court below did not take such measures and determined the claim of this case. The court below erred by misapprehending the legal principles on the exclusive jurisdiction, which affected the conclusion of the judgment.

Therefore, without further proceeding to decide on the grounds of appeal, the judgment of the court of first instance shall be reversed ex officio, and the judgment of the court of first instance shall be revoked, and the case shall be transferred to the Seoul Family Court, which is the competent court, for a new trial and determination, as

Justices Min Il-young (Presiding Justice)