The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), who was the guardian of two minor children after child protection proceedings, brought a Hague Abduction return petition in the Southern District of New York against the children's mother. The Court confirmed that RBKC had standing under Article 8 … Read More about Case Update (7 Mar 2023): RBKC v. Bafna-Louis; Standing to bring return petition by institution claiming a right of custody, mature child objection in un-transcribed interview
Case Update (13 Oct 2022): Godinez v. Godinez; motion to dismiss denied in Hague Abduction matter
Mr. Godinez filed a request to have his three children returned to Mexico pursuant to the Hague Abduction Convention on or about June 8, 2022. When Ms. Godinez was appointed pro bono counsel, the counsel filed a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to FRCP Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject-matter … Read More about Case Update (13 Oct 2022): Godinez v. Godinez; motion to dismiss denied in Hague Abduction matter
Case Update (2 Sept 2022): Revelo v. Cedeno; minor child ordered returned to Ecuador, court orders federal government to produce documents necessary to return child
Petitioner Father and Respondent Mother are parents to one child, born in Ecuador. The parents were in a civil union until August 29, 2019, at which time they ended their relationship. At the same time, they entered into a custody agreement that gave Respondent custody with open visitation rights … Read More about Case Update (2 Sept 2022): Revelo v. Cedeno; minor child ordered returned to Ecuador, court orders federal government to produce documents necessary to return child
Case Update (26 Aug 2022): Vonnahme v. Lugo; deciphering a right of custody under a Cuban custody decree and “ambiguous” German law
The parties are divorced parents to a daughter, born in April 2013 in Havana, Cuba. In 2013, Ms. Lugo and the child moved to Paderborn, Germany. The couple separated in 2014, with Mr. Vonnahme pursuing a divorce in Cuba in 2015. In the divorce decree, both parents had rights of "patria postetas" … Read More about Case Update (26 Aug 2022): Vonnahme v. Lugo; deciphering a right of custody under a Cuban custody decree and “ambiguous” German law
Case Update (26 August 2022): Livingstone v. Livingstone; 5-year foreign protection order meant Petitioner had no right of custody
On August 26, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the D. of Colorado denied Mr. Livingstone's request to return his children to Australia. The parties married in Las Vegas in February 2015 and had a child. When their child was 3-months old in February 2017, they traveled to Australia. They lived a … Read More about Case Update (26 August 2022): Livingstone v. Livingstone; 5-year foreign protection order meant Petitioner had no right of custody
Case Update (11 August 2022): Ariza Lopez v. Ash; lack of particular and specific evidence resulted in child’s return to Honduras
On August 11, 2022, a Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Louisiana issued a Memorandum Ruling granting Ms. Ariza Lopez's request to return her dual citizen child to Honduras using the Hague Abduction Convention. Mr. Ash, who is not the child's biological parent, but is listed on the … Read More about Case Update (11 August 2022): Ariza Lopez v. Ash; lack of particular and specific evidence resulted in child’s return to Honduras
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): Aluker v. Yan, rights of custody under Hague Abduction Convention and private agreement
On August 5, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the Eastern District of Virginia in the case of Aluker v. Yan. This was an unpublished, non-binding, opinion. The parties and their two children had resided in Portugal since 2017, they separated shortly after arriving … Read More about Case Update (2021): Aluker v. Yan, rights of custody under Hague Abduction Convention and private agreement
Case Update (2021): Aluker v. Yan; right of custody pursuant to a Property Settlement Agreement, Article 3 “legal effect”
On March 4, 2021, Judge Liam O'Grady of the U.S. District Court of the EDVa, entered an order in the case of Aluker v. Yan, granting Respondent's motion for judgment on partial findings. Petitioner has appealed.In September 2017, the Aluker-Yan family moved from the United States to Portugal, … Read More about Case Update (2021): Aluker v. Yan; right of custody pursuant to a Property Settlement Agreement, Article 3 “legal effect”