In Stone v Stone, 2020 WL 491194 (D. New Jersey, 2020) [Not for publication]
on September 12, 2019, Petitioner Yerucham Stone filed a petition for the
return of his three minor children to Israel pursuant to the 1980 Hague
Convention. Respondent Bracha Leibowitz Stone responded to the factual
allegations of the Petition, opposed the return of the Minor Children to Israel,
and requested attorneys fees and costs. The Court held an evidentiary hearing and
denied the Petition for return.
On December 20, 2019, the Court held a telephone status conference
with the parties, during which Respondent’s counsel reiterated her request for
attorneys’ fees and costs. The District Court pointed out that Respondent’s
counsel argued that 42 U.S.C. § 11601,
which implemented the Hague Convention, permits the Court to award fees and
costs to a successful respondent. § 11601
has been superseded by 22 U.S.C. § 9001
el seq. Under the statute, a court ordering the return of a child
pursuant to the statute “shall order the respondent to pay necessary
expenses incurred by ... petitioner, including court costs [and] legal fees.” 22 U.S.C. §
9007(b)(3). There is no provision, however, by which a respondent is
eligible to recover fees and costs from a petitioner. Moreover, other district
courts have found that a prevailing respondent is not entitled to attorneys’
fees. See, e.g., White v. White. 893 F. Supp. 2d
755. 758 (E.D. Va. 2012) (noting that ICARA “does not provide for
fees to a prevailing respondent, and indeed, does not even mention prevailing
respondents”); Thompson v. Gnirk, No. 12-220, 2012
WL 3598854, at *17 (D.N.H. Aug. 21. 2012) (denying prevailing
respondent’s request for attorneys’ fees because ICARA provides “no such
[fee-shifting] provision for a prevailing respondent”).
Furthermore, “[u]nder the American rule, each party normally must bear the
burden of its own legal expenses, including attorneys’ fees.” Wilkes Barre Hosp.
Co., LLC v. Wyo. Valley Nurses Ass’n Pasnap, 453 F. App’x 258, 261 (3d Cir.
2011) (quoting Mobil Oil Corp. v.
Indep. Oil Workers Union, 679 F.2d 299, 305 (3d Cir. 1982)). The
Court found no basis to depart from this principle in this case, and denied
Respondent’s request for an award of fees and costs.
