Minnesota and international child support enforcement orders
As I write this, it’s a somewhat nice Spring day here in Minnesota, the Twins are not doing that bad, tied for 2nd in the American League Central at 30-25, and Ty France is looking pretty, pretty good this season!
So that’s the intro as look at a new case that came down this past week (Kiya v. Jackson) at the Minnesota Court of Appeals that involves, you guessed it, Baseball! (Shameless plug: this reminds of another blog post about a baseball player that was awfully popular)
So let me set the stage for you: It’s a beautiful spring day last year at Target Field, The sun’s out, the bullpen’s busy, and (not yet former) Minnesota Twins pitcher Jay Jackson walks into the clubhouse, expecting sunflower seeds, pitching charts, and maybe a new scouting report. Instead? He finds a child support registration notice…on his chair.
This is either the most Minnesota way to serve someone or the passive-aggressive equivalent of putting a Post-it on your soon to be ex’s lunch that says, “We need to talk.” Either way, Mr. Jackson got the legal equivalent of a 90-mph fastball to the face.
The Setup: Love, Baseball, and Japan
Jay Jackson is no stranger to airports. The man’s played for half the teams in pro baseball, including a stint in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. While there, he met Masami Kiya. Romance bloomed, a child was born in 2018, well, we have to fast forward a few years after the romance fizzled and the Japanese courts ordered child support in 2021.
But Jackson was already long gone from Japan by then, pitching stateside and moved to Minneapolis, where he signed a lease (more on why that’s important later) when he joined the Twins in early 2024. That’s where Kiya caught up with him—thanks to something called MUIFSA (Minnesota Uniform Interstate Family Support Act), Minnesota’s own homegrown tool to enforce child support orders from other jurisdictions.
And enforce it she did. Enter that chair at Target Field.
The Legal Windup
Jackson tried to duck the order like a batter dodging a wild pitch, claiming that he didn’t live in Minnesota permanently, and that since the order was from Japan (and side note the argument that child support was so different than in MN it shouldn’t be enforced here)Minnesota can’t enforce the order.
The Court of Appeals wasn’t buying it. Not one bit.
The court’s opinion, written with typical Minnesota clarity and just a hint of judicial side-eye by Judge Kevin G. Ross (fun side fact: Judge Ross is no stranger to baseball himself and apparently was quite the Little League coach for his children!). Judge Ross walked through the facts: Jackson was indeed living in Minnesota. Why do you ask? That pesky ease he signed when he joined the Twins. He also had a job, at least temporarily, with the Twins. Was he planning to stay forever? Probably not, but he sure was here long enough for MUIFSA to sink its teeth in.
Judge Ross also pointed out that Japan, despite some differences, has child support laws “substantially similar” to ours. No, they don’t do income withholding like we do—but they’ve got mechanisms in place to enforce payment of Child Support and that was a factor.
The Bigger Message: This Could Be You
Now here’s where it turns into more than just a baseball story.
If you’re a parent who has a child support order issued by the court, well, the takeaway here is that child support follows you no matter where you go. It doesn’t matter if you live in Japan, Jamaica, or just over the Iowa border. If there’s a valid order, it can (and nearly always does) catch up with you even if you’re a journeyman pitcher with a big league career ERA of 4.43 and a short lease in a cold state that you barely remember.
This isn’t just a quirky appellate court case, it’s a BUNT reminder: If you create a child, the responsibility doesn’t stop when the contract ends or when you catch the next flight out of Shakopee.
This just highlights to prove that Minnesota courts are willing to enforce international child support orders when the facts show that someone is living and working here. Even temporarily. The magic word is “indefinitely,” not “forever.” Don’t want Minnesota law to apply? Then don’t live here, work here, or sign a lease here while ignoring a legal obligation from abroad.
Jay Jackson can still appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, but odds are his pitch has already crossed the plate…and it’s been called a ball!