On August 29, 2020, the Mother traveled with the child from Honduras to the United States to visit with a family friend named Bessy. She had a return plane ticket for September 26, 2020, which she never used. Instead, she remained with the child in the USA. The Mother left behind most of her … Read More about Case Update (9 March 2022): Argueta v. Lemus; Hague Abduction Convention return after Taking Parent cannot meet burden of proof on any exception
Case Update (2021): Philantrope v. Jean; Hague Abduction Return; child not settled despite petition being filed 29 months after removal
On October 19, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the SD of Florida ordered the parties' minor child returned to Chile. The child's father, alleging violent threats by the mother's boyfriend in Chile, decided to take their child to the United States. Over the course of approximately 3 months in … Read More about Case Update (2021): Philantrope v. Jean; Hague Abduction Return; child not settled despite petition being filed 29 months after removal
Case Update (2021): de Jesus Joya Rubio v. Alvarez; mature child objection with a psychologist’s report
On March 15, 2021, in the case of de Jesus Joya Rubio v. Alvarez, the U.S. District Court for the SD of Florida denied a father's petition to have his 12-year-old son returned to Mexico. The father proved his prima facie case, so the court shifted its review to the 3 exceptions the respondent … Read More about Case Update (2021): de Jesus Joya Rubio v. Alvarez; mature child objection with a psychologist’s report
Case Update (2021): Bejarno v. Jimenez; immigration status is not dispositive in a now settled analysis
In Summer 2020, in Bejarno v. Jimenez, the U.S. District Court for the District of NJ denied a Father's request to have his son returned to Honduras on the basis that the Father had filed his Hague abduction return petition in the courts more than one year after the wrongful removal, and the child … Read More about Case Update (2021): Bejarno v. Jimenez; immigration status is not dispositive in a now settled analysis
Case Update (2020): Romero v. Bahamonde; Hague Abduction; mature child, burden to prove exceptions on Respondent
On November 19, 2020, the US District Court for the M.D. of Georgia issued its opinion, denying Mr. Romero's request to return his two children to Chile. In December 2017, Mr. Romero brought the parties' 2 children to Florida to see his mother, with the intention of remaining until March … Read More about Case Update (2020): Romero v. Bahamonde; Hague Abduction; mature child, burden to prove exceptions on Respondent
Case Update (2021): Alfonso VH v. Christina AZ; Hague Abduction Return Petition, Now Settled Exception
On January 8, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia denied a return petition brought under the Hague Abduction Convention in the case of Alfonso VH v. Christina AZ on the basis that the minor child is now settled in the United States.The court found that the … Read More about Case Update (2021): Alfonso VH v. Christina AZ; Hague Abduction Return Petition, Now Settled Exception
Case Update (2020): De Carvalho v. Carvalho Pereira; Return of a child to a habitual residence where that child has never lived
The recent 1980 Hague Abduction case of De Carvalho v. Carvalho Pereira focused on two key issues: the children's habitual residence and whether the children were now settled in the United States. The District Court of Appeal of Florida affirmed the trial court's order to return both children to … Read More about Case Update (2020): De Carvalho v. Carvalho Pereira; Return of a child to a habitual residence where that child has never lived
Case Update (2020): Biagioli Da Silva v. Vieira; Hague Abduction Convention – Right of Custody
The case of Biagioli Da Silva et. al. v. Vieira is, in most respects, a run-of-the-mill Hague Abduction return proceeding. The parents and children were all Brazilian nationals. The parents separated, divorced, and shared custody in Brazil. The Father, Biagioli Da Silva, ran into … Read More about Case Update (2020): Biagioli Da Silva v. Vieira; Hague Abduction Convention – Right of Custody
Case Update (2020): Da Silva v. De Aredes; Hague Abduction Convention, Return Orders cannot resolve custody
Just before I started this blog, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an opinion in the case of Da Silva v. De Aredes (953 F.3d 67 (March 13, 2020)). There were a few issues that the Respondent Mother (de Aredes) argued on appeal, but ultimately the court affirmed the U.S. … Read More about Case Update (2020): Da Silva v. De Aredes; Hague Abduction Convention, Return Orders cannot resolve custody
Case Update (2020): Zaoral v. Meza; Hague Abduction Convention, one year and now settled
On August 26, 2020, in the case of Zaoral v. Meza, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered the return of a 15-year-old child to Venezuela. The parties' youngest child, age 15 at the time of the trial, was the subject of a Venezuelan custody order that gave both parents … Read More about Case Update (2020): Zaoral v. Meza; Hague Abduction Convention, one year and now settled
Case Update (2020): Castro v. Hernandez Renteria; Date of Wrongful Removal, One Year and Now Settled under the Hague Abduction Convention
On August 19, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's refusal to return a minor child to Mexico in the case of Castro v. Hernandez Renteria on the basis that the underlying petition for return was filed more than one year after the child's wrongful removal/retention, and … Read More about Case Update (2020): Castro v. Hernandez Renteria; Date of Wrongful Removal, One Year and Now Settled under the Hague Abduction Convention
Case Update (2020): Bejarno v. Jimenez; Hague Abduction Convention, “now settled”
The case of Bejarno v. Jimenez denied the Petitioner Father’s request to return his child to Honduras using the Hague Abduction Convention. The court’s analysis hinged on the "now settled" exception. The court concluded that the Respondent Mother removed the parties’ child to the United … Read More about Case Update (2020): Bejarno v. Jimenez; Hague Abduction Convention, “now settled”