Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 6 June 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Amtsgericht Mönchengladbach-Rheydt – Germany) – ZO v JS
(Case C-381/23, 1 Geterfer 2 )
(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Jurisdiction in matters relating to maintenance obligations – Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 – Article 12(1) – Lis pendens – Article 13 – Related actions – Concept)
Language of the case: German
Referring court
Amtsgericht Mönchengladbach-Rheydt
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: ZO
Defendant: JS
Operative part of the judgment
Article 12(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations
must be interpreted as meaning that the conditions for recognition of a situation of lis pendens laid down in that provision, under which proceedings must have the same cause of action and must be brought between the same parties, are not satisfied when, at the time a claim is brought before a court of one Member State by a child – who has in the meantime become an adult – for payment of maintenance from his or her mother, a claim has already been brought before a court of another Member State by the mother seeking compensation from the child’s father for accommodation and maintenance of that child, since the applicants’ actions do not have the same end in view and do not relate to the same period. The absence of a situation of lis pendens, within the meaning of Article 12(1) of Regulation No 4/2009, does not, however, preclude the application of Article 13 of that regulation if the actions at issue are sufficiently closely connected for them to be regarded as related within the meaning of Article 13(3) of that regulation, with the result that, where it is not the court first seised, the referring court may stay the proceedings.
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1 OJ C 329, 18.9.2023.
1 The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any of the parties to the proceedings.