In re Tsarbopoulos, No. 00-35393, 2000 WL 1721800 (9th Cir. Nov. 17, 2000)

Docket Number
No. 00-35393
Published
No
Decision Date
2000-11-17
Name of Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Opinion by
Reavley; Fernandez; Thomas
Counsel for Petitioner
Karademos, Peter John
Counsel for Respondent
Schultz, Mary E
Counsel for Court
Requesting State
Greece
Requested State
United States of America
Procedural History

The Petitioner/father requested the children be returned to Greece pursuant to the Hague Convention. The district court granted the Petitioner/father's summary judgment motion sua sponte. The Respondent/mother immediately appealed and requested reassignment of the case on remand to a different judge.

Summary of Facts

The Respondent/mother and the Petitioner/father lived the United States for ten years, where their three children were born. Later, the entire family moved to Greece. The Respondent/mother was under the impression that the move was only temporary and that Greece was not a place of habitual residence for the children. It was during this time that the Respondent/mother claimed the children were physically abused by the Petitioner/father. The Respondent/mother then fled back to the United States with the children. At trial, the Respondent/mother provided four health care professionals who testified that the children were physically abused by the Petitioner/father while the family lived in Greece.

Defenses Raised

Hague Article 3a: The child's habitual residence is not the requesting state

Hague Article 13b: Grave risk of harm to the child if returned to the petitioning country

Statutes Considered (ICARA)
11601, 11602, 11603, 11604, 11605, 11606, 11607, 11608, 11609, 11610, 11603(e)(1), 11603(e)(2)
Articles Considered (Hague Convention)
13(b)
Cases Considered
Blondin v. Dubois, 189 F.3d 240 (2nd Cir. 1999); Feder v. Evans-Feder, 63 F.3d 217 (3rd Cir. 1995); Friedrich v. Friedrich , 983 F.2d 1396 (6th Cir. 1993); Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir. 2000); Mozes v. Mozes, 239 F.3d 1067 (9th Cir. 2001); Shalit v. Coppe, 182 F.3d 1124 (9th Cir. 1999); Weiner v. San Diego County, 210 F.3d 1025 (9th Cir. 2000)
Judicial Outcome or Order
Reversed and Remanded
Posted
2004-11-21

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