§1739.__Appearance and limited immunity

1.__Not subject to personal jurisdiction for other purpose.__A party to a child custody proceeding, including a modification proceeding, or a petitioner or respondent in a proceeding to enforce or register a child custody determination is not subject to personal jurisdiction in this State for another proceeding or purpose solely by reason of having participated or of having been physically present for the purpose of participating in the proceeding.

2.__Not immune from service of process if subject to personal jurisdiction.__A person who is subject to personal jurisdiction in this State on a basis other than physical presence is not immune from service of process in this State.__A party present in this State who is subject to the jurisdiction of another state is not immune from service of process allowable under the laws of that state.

3.__Immunity does not extend to unrelated acts.__The immunity granted by subsection 1 does not extend to civil litigation based on acts unrelated to the participation in a proceeding under this chapter committed by an individual while present in this State.

Uniform Comment

This section establishes a general principle that participation in a custody proceeding does not, by itself, give the court jurisdiction over any issue for which personal jurisdiction over the individual is required. The term "participate" should be read broadly. For example, if jurisdiction is proper under Article 2 [Me. cite subchapter II], a respondent in an original custody determination, or a party in a modification determination, should be able to request custody without this constituting the seeking of affirmative relief that would waive personal jurisdictional objections. Once jurisdiction is proper under Article 2 [Me. cite subchapter II], a party should not be placed in the dilemma of choosing between seeking custody or protecting a right not to be subject to a monetary judgment by a court with no other relationship to the party.

This section is comparable to the immunity provision of UIFSA § 314. A party who is otherwise not subject to personal