Danaipour v. McLarey (I), 183 F. Supp. 2d 311 (D. Mass. 2002)
- Docket Number
- CIV.A.01-11528- MLW
- Published
- Yes
- Decision Date
- 2002-01-02
- Name of Court
- United States District Court, D. Massachusetts
- Opinion by
- Wolf
- Counsel for Petitioner
- Baskin, Nancy ; Alys Azzarito, Mary ; Cullen, Stephen J
- Counsel for Respondent
- Boland, Beth ; Burnett, Elizabeth B; Brand Wade, Meredith
- Counsel for Court
- Requesting State
- Sweden
- Requested State
- United States of America
- Procedural History
-
The Petitioner/father filed a Hague petition demanding the return of his two children from the United States to Sweden. The Respondent/mother alleges that the return order would pose a grave risk to the children because the Petitioner/father sexually abused the children.
- Summary of Facts
-
The Respondent/mother is both and American and a Swedish citizen. The Petitioner/father was born in Iran and is now a Swedish citizen, where he is a practicing child psychologist. The couple had their first daughter in 1994 and their second daughter in 1998. By the summer of 1999, the couple's marriage was in trouble and the Respondent/mother became romantically involved with a former boyfriend. The Petitioner/father filed for divorce on February 29, 2000. The Petitioner/father and Respondent/mother were temporarily given joint custody of their children and continued to live together. In the spring of 2000, the couple's living situation caused tension and the Petitioner/father cut the modem on the Respondent/mother's computer for sending an email to her boyfriend while the Petitioner/father was at home. On another occasion, the Petitioner/father pushed the Respondent/mother. In June 2000, the Respondent/mother left to the U.S. with the children. The Petitioner/father then obtained Swedish court orders giving him sole custody and requiring the Respondent/mother to return the children to Sweden. In September 2000, the Respondent/mother returned. Briefly the children lived with the Petitioner/father and visited the Respondent/mother in a women's shelter. The Respondent/mother regained joint custody of the children by representing to the court that she would not take the children out of Sweden and by surrendering the children's passport to the court. The court allowed the Respondent/mother to live in the family home and ordered the Petitioner/father to relocate. The children began residing with each parent on alternating weeks when the Respondent/mother noticed redness in the children's vaginal areas. The Petitioner/father did not abuse the Respondent/mother physically or psychologically during the course of the marriage. Nor is there evidence that the Petitioner/father abused the children.
- Defenses Raised
-
Hague Article 13b: Grave risk of harm to the child if returned to the petitioning country
Hague Article 13b: The court finds that the child has attained an age and degree of maturity at which it is appropriate to take into account the child's views, and the child objects to return to the requesting state
Hague Article 20: Return of the child would violate principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms
- Statutes Considered (ICARA)
- 11603(e)(2)(A), 11603(e)(2)(B)
- Articles Considered (Hague Convention)
- 4, 7, 11, 12, 13(a), 13(b), 19, 20, 34
- Cases Considered
- Application of Walsh, 31 F.Supp.2d 200 (D.Mass 1998); Blondin v. Dubois, 189 F.3d 240 (2nd Cir. 1999); Blondin v. Dubois, 78 F.Supp.2d 283 (S.D.N.Y. 2000); Blondin v. Dubois, 238 F.3d 153 (2nd Cir. 2001); Care and Protection of Laura, 414 Mass. 788 (1993); S.S v. D.M., 597 A.2d 870 (1991); Walsh v. Walsh , 221 F.3d 204 (1st Cir. 2000); Ostevoll v. Ostevoll , 2000 WL 1611123 (S.D. Ohio 2000); Steffen F. v. Severina P., P.,966 F.Supp. 922 (D. Ariz. 1997)
- Judicial Outcome or Order
- Return Ordered
- Posted
- 2004-11-15
Why this Project?
We are a team of individuals from various professional backgrounds who are dedicated to creating a comprehensive resource that will enable mothers, domestic violence advocates, attorneys and judges to better prepare themselves for Hague Convention cases in the United States' legal system.
