In Re Howell

In In re Howell, 161 N.C. App. 650, 589 S.E.2d 157 (2003), the respondent asserted that no summons was issued with the petition to terminate her parental rights and she was not served with the petition to terminate parental rights. Respondent, however, failed to object to either a lack of personal jurisdiction over her or insufficiency of process or service of process at any point prior to or during the termination hearing. Respondent made a general appearance at the adjudicatory hearing and at the dispositional hearing. This Court, relying on and applying Rule 12 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, held that respondent waived these issues as defenses and that the trial court gained jurisdiction through respondent's waiver. Id. at 656, 589 S.E.2d at 160. By implication, the Court's holding signified that issuance of a summons affects personal jurisdiction, not subject matter jurisdiction, and that it had jurisdiction over the subject matter even though no summons had been issued.