Case Results of Laura Dale

Father petitioned the district court to order mother to return their three-year-old daughter to Paraguay, where she lived with both parents from October 2014 to October 2016. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's determination that Paraguay was the daughter's habitual residence and that mother had wrongfully removed her to the United States. The court held that the district court did not legally err in assessing the parties' shared intent about their child's habitual residence; nor did the district court clearly err in finding that they agreed that their daughter would habitually reside in Paraguay; and any purported evidentiary error was harmless.

Berezowsky I involved a complex history of mother and father’s contemporaneous child custody litigation in both Mexico and Texas, each seeking a friendly forum for their claims. In November 2012, mother filed a Hague Convention petition in the Southern District of Texas and obtained an order returning the child to Mexico, where mother had obtained a judgment granting her custody. Pursuant to the district court order, mother returned to Mexico with the child. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit found that the child’s habitual residence was Texas, not Mexico, so it reversed and directed that the district court vacate the return order and dismiss the case. In light of the Fifth Circuit’s holding that Texas was the child’s habitual residence, father requested that the district court issue a re-return order, compelling the return of the child back to Texas. The district court refused the order. Father appealed to the Fifth Circuit, contending that the district court’s refusal to grant an order compelling the child’s return was an abuse of discretion, allowing mother to possess the child by virtue of a vacated return order.

Plaintiff–Appellee Ms. Rossy Bellorin Salazar (“Salazar”) filed suit under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (“ICARA”) against Defendant–Appellant Mr. Jose Zaghloul Maimon (“Maimon”) for the return of their child. The parties voluntarily settled their dispute and the district court entered a settlement order memorializing the terms of their agreement. Subsequently, Salazar brought a motion for attorneys' fees and necessary expenses pursuant to the fee-shifting provision of the ICARA. Maimon opposed the motion and asked for an evidentiary hearing. Without conducting an evidentiary hearing, the district court granted-in-part the motion for attorneys' fees and awarded Salazar $39,079.13. Maimon appeals the award of attorneys' fees as well as the failure of the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing. We affirm. Affirming an award of $39,079.13 for attorney's fees and expenses after district court reduced award by half from $75,149.91

Concluding the shared intent was for the child to return to the habitual residence of Mexico because the petitioner enrolled the child in school in Mexico and the respondent enrolled the child in school in the United States. Based on the aforementioned, this Court finds that A.R.R.'s habitual residence is the Republic of Mexico and that the child was wrongfully retained in the United States in violation of the Convention. Petitioner Maria Marcella Rodriguez Munoz' Verified Petition for Return of Children is GRANTED.

Petitioner, Leandro Ampudia Rovirosa ("Ampudia"), brought this action1 against Respondent, Michelle Vieth Paetau ("Vieth") pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction Remedies Act [hereinafter "Hague Convention"], 42 U.S.C. § 11601-11611, seeking the return of his son, L.A.V., and daughter, M.A.V., to Mexico from the United States. Given that Ampudia has established by a preponderance of the evidence each of the elements required by the Hague Convention show that Vieth wrongfully removed L.A.V. and M.A.V. from Mexico, and given that Vieth has failed to meet her burden that any of the exceptions apply to the facts of this case, the court must order the return of L.A.V. and M.A.V. to Mexico, their habitual residence prior to their wrongful removal by Vieth.

Plaintiff–Appellee Evelyn Larbie filed a petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the “Convention”), T.I.A.S. No. 11670, 19 I.L.M. 1501, codified by the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (“ICARA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 11601, et seq., seeking the return of her son, K.L., to the United Kingdom (“U.K.”).   The district court granted Evelyn's petition and ordered Defendant–Appellant Derek Larbie to turn K.L. over to Evelyn's care. The district court's application of the Convention here, however, effectively reverses a custody order entered after lengthy proceedings, culminating in a final divorce and custody order, in which neither party objected to the state court's jurisdiction, creating precisely the type of international custody dispute that the Convention seeks to avoid. Accordingly, we VACATE the district court's order and RENDER judgment in Derek's favor.

In this divorce appeal, Fardad Aduli argues that the trial court erred in denying his special appearance and abused its discretion in permitting his counsel to withdraw on the day of trial; denying his motions for a continuance and a new trial on the basis that he had been forced to leave the country; and adopting his wife's proposed division of the marital estate without sufficient evidence. We conclude that the trial court correctly denied Fardad's special appearance and did not abuse its discretion in allowing Frankfort to withdraw, denying Fardad's motions for continuance and a new trial, or adopting Valerie's requested division of the marital estate. Consequently, we affirm.

Petitioner, Magnus Norinder, filed this suit against his wife, Sharon Fuentes, seeking the return of their son, JRN, to Sweden. The battle here is over which country, Sweden or the United States, is JRN's habitual residence. Norinder asserts that Sweden is, and that Fuentes abducted JRN to the United States in violation of the Hague Convention. The district court agreed and ordered JRN returned to Sweden, where Norinder is living and where Fuentes and JRN lived until recently.

Petition for Return of Child to Petitioner brought pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction as implemented by the ICARA. Petition is denied. Petitioner filed this Hague Convention Action alleging that Respondent wrongfully removed their minor child from Germany, wrongfully retained the child in Austria, and wrongfully removed her from the United States. She contends that the child's habitual residence immediately prior to her removal and retention was Germany.

Petitioner, Luca Guaragno, filed suit against Respondent, Carrie Lynn Guaragno, on December 8, 2009, pursuant to The Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act. Petitioner sought return of his minor son, alleging that Respondent, the child's mother, wrongfully removed the child from Italy to the United States. Following a bench trial, the Court found that the child was removed from his habitual residence in Italy and ordered that he be returned to the Petitioner's custody. The Court ordered the child returned to Italy and Respondent to pay attorney fees.

Lisa Loftis ("Lisa") appeals the district court's Final Order of Garnishment, which set aside a community property partition agreement entered into between Lisa and her husband, Todd Loftis ("Todd"). She contends that the district court erroneously found the partition agreement to be a fraudulent transfer, and she challenges the scope of the garnishment ordered. This garnishment proceeding arose out of Todd's conviction for conspiracy to defraud the United States with false and fraudulent claims. From 1998 to 2004, Todd, as the president of Tools and Metals, Inc. ("TMI"), directed TMI employees to inflate the cost of tools that were purchased by Lockheed Martin, a Department of Defense ("DOD") contractor. The inflated costs were then passed on to the government. Todd also directed TMI employees to conceal the conspiracy by destroying invoices and removing evidence from TMI computers.

On February 9, 2009, Nick filed a petition for the return of the child in Fort *872 Bend County, Texas, pursuant to the Hague Convention and the federal International Child Abduction Remedies Act ("ICARA"). 42 U.S.C. §§ 11601-11611 (2006). Nick attached his Hague Convention application and the Greek court's October 15, 2008 custody order. Nick alleged that Evangelos had habitually resided in Greece for all five years of his life before Angie wrongfully removed him from Greece in July 2008. Nick sought the immediate return of Evangelos, as well as all costs and fees that he had incurred in his quest to recover Evangelos. Nick simultaneously requested that the trial court issue a writ of attachment, entitling law enforcement officials to take possession of Evangelos and return him to Nick.