Blondin v. Dubois (I), 19-2 F.Supp. 123 (S.D.N.Y. 1998)
- Docket Number
- No. 98 Civ. 4274 (DC)
- Published
- Yes
- Decision Date
- 1998-08-07
- Name of Court
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Counsel for Petitioner
- Chin, Penny
- Counsel for Respondent
- Wolfman, Valerie S
- Counsel for Court
- Joy, Leonard F
- Requesting State
- France
- Requested State
- United States of America
- Procedural History
-
In June 1998, the Petitioner/father filed a Hague petition seeking the return of the children to France. The Petitioner/father denied all allegations of abuse. However, the Court found him not be a credible witness because his story and explanation changed several times during trial. In addition, there were two medical records of when the Respondent/mother went to the hospital for treatment and told the treating physicians that the injuries were a result of her husband beating her.
- Summary of Facts
-
The Petitioner/father, a French citizen, and the Respondent/mother began living together in France during the summer of 1990. Starting in 1991, the Petitioner/father began hitting or beating the Respondent/mother. The Petitioner/father beat the Respondent/mother throughout the couple's relationship, including while the Respondent/mother was pregnant, in front of their children, and while the Respondent/mother held their infant child. In 1992, the Petitioner/father took an electrical cord and twisted it around one of the children's neck threatened to kill her. There were two medical reports of the Respondent/mother being beaten while pregnant with the couple's second child. Once in 1992 and once in 1993, the Respondent/mother left with the children to shelters for battered women. When the Respondent/mother left the family home in 1993, the Petitioner/father began proceedings to obtain custody of the oldest child. The parties reconciled and the French court ordered joint parental custody with the principal residence being with the Petitioner/father. The second child, Francois, was born in August 1995. In August 1997, the Respondent/mother forged the Petitioner/father's signature in an application for passports for both children and took the children to NY, where her brother lived.
- Defenses Raised
-
Hague Article 13b: Grave risk of harm to the child if returned to the petitioning country
- Statutes Considered (ICARA)
- 11601(a)(4), 11603(e)(2)(A)
- Articles Considered (Hague Convention)
- 3, 4, 11, 12, 13
- Cases Considered
- Brook v. Willis, 907 F.Supp. 57 (S.D.N.Y. 1995); Cf. Daniel H. v. Catherine Ann O.H., N.Y. Fam. Ct. (1996); Friedrich v. Friedrich, 78 F.3d 1060 (6th Cir. 1996); Nunez-Escudero v. Tice-Menley, 58 F.3d 374 (8th Cir. 1995); Panazatou v. Pantazatos, No. FA 960713571S WL 614519 (1997); Rydder v. Rydder, 49 F.3d 369 (8th Cir. 1995); Tahan v. Duquette, 259 N.J.Super. 328 (1992)
- Judicial Outcome or Order
- Return Order Denied
- Posted
- 2004-11-05
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