                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN COURTS (§ 20-146.9)

A. Before finding and exercising jurisdiction, a court of this Commonwealth
shall communicate with the court appearing to have jurisdiction in any other
state concerning a proceeding arising under this act.

B. The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. If the
parties are not able to participate in the communication, they must be given the
opportunity to present facts and legal arguments before a decision on
jurisdiction is made.

C. Communication between courts on schedules, calendars, court records, and
similar matters may occur without informing the parties. A record need not be
made of the communication.

D. Except as otherwise provided in subsection C, a record must be made of a
communication under this section. The parties must be informed promptly of the
communication and granted access to the record.

E. For the purposes of this section, &#8220;record&#8221; means information that
is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other
medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

HISTORY: 2001, c. 305.