Recent Hague Convention District Court Cases - Guzzo v Hansen, 2022 WL 3081159 (E.D. Missouri, 2022)

 [Italy][Habitual residence][Petition granted]

In Guzzo v Hansen, 2022 WL 3081159 (E.D. Missouri, 2022) the district court granted the fathers Complaint for Return. In a judgment dated May 4, 2021  the Spanish court awarded: (1) the parties joint parental authority; (2) Mother primary physical custody; and (3) Father progressive visitation. Additionally, the Custody Judgement provided: “Neither party may transfer [Child] outside the national territory without the express consent of the other or, failing that, judicial authorization.” On September 13, 2021, Mother and Child travelled to St. Charles, Missouri. Mother understood when she left Spain that she did not have the Spanish court’s permission to remove Child from the country as required by the Custody Judgment. Two days later, Mother emailed Father informing him they had moved. Father reported Child’s removal to the local authorities in Seville on September 17, 2021. Approximately one month later, he filed a request in Spanish court for changes to the Custody Judgment, as well as a formal request for Child’s return under the Hague Convention. After a hearing, at which Mother was not present but was represented by an attorney, the Spanish court determined that Mother’s “actions were contrary to law and illegal,” provisionally withdrew Mother’s custody rights, and granted Father exclusive custody. The Court found that prior to being brought to the United States, Child’s country of habitual residence was Spain. Mother claimed that returning Child to Spain would expose him to a grave risk of psychological harm or otherwise place him in an intolerable situation. Mother argued that returning Child to Spain would cause him psychological harm because: (1) Child “does not wish to return to Spain and lacks any sufficient degree of accommodations there”; (2) Father “does not have a permanent home or stable, long-term employment in Spain”; (3) Mother “is unable to live or work in Spain because she is unable to secure the proper immigration status to do so”; and (4) return to Spain “would subject [Child] to … tumultuous custody proceedings[.]” The Court found Mother failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that return to Spain will expose Child to a grave risk of harm.

 Second, she claimed that Child objects to being returned and has attained an age and degree of maturity at which it is appropriate to take his views into account. The Court found Mother failed to demonstrate that Child expressed a particularized objection to returning to Spain. He did not communicate dislike for Spain so much as a preference for the United States. Child complained about Spain’s weather and stated that there was “nothing to do there,” but he also reported that the home he shared with Mother was “awesome” and there were “a lot of things to do there.” Child’s general complaints about Spain did not suggest that “living in that country would be unacceptable.”

  The district court granted the fathers Complaint for Return. In a judgment dated May 4, 2021  the Spanish court awarded: (1) the parties joint parental authority; (2) Mother primary physical custody; and (3) Father progressive visitation. Additionally, the Custody Judgement provided: “Neither party may transfer [Child] outside the national territory without the express consent of the other or, failing that, judicial authorization.” On September 13, 2021, Mother and Child travelled to St. Charles, Missouri. Mother understood when she left Spain that she did not have the Spanish court’s permission to remove Child from the country as required by the Custody Judgment. Two days later, Mother emailed Father informing him they had moved. Father reported Child’s removal to the local authorities in Seville on September 17, 2021. Approximately one month later, he filed a request in Spanish court for changes to the Custody Judgment, as well as a formal request for Child’s return under the Hague Convention. After a hearing, at which Mother was not present but was represented by an attorney, the Spanish court determined that Mother’s “actions were contrary to law and illegal,” provisionally withdrew Mother’s custody rights, and granted Father exclusive custody. The Court found that prior to being brought to the United States, Child’s country of habitual residence was Spain. Mother claimed that returning Child to Spain would expose him to a grave risk of psychological harm or otherwise place him in an intolerable situation. Mother argued that returning Child to Spain would cause him psychological harm because: (1) Child “does not wish to return to Spain and lacks any sufficient degree of accommodations there”; (2) Father “does not have a permanent home or stable, long-term employment in Spain”; (3) Mother “is unable to live or work in Spain because she is unable to secure the proper immigration status to do so”; and (4) return to Spain “would subject [Child] to … tumultuous custody proceedings[.]” The Court found Mother failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that return to Spain will expose Child to a grave risk of harm.

 Second, she claimed that Child objects to being returned and has attained an age and degree of maturity at which it is appropriate to take his views into account. The Court found Mother failed to demonstrate that Child expressed a particularized objection to returning to Spain. He did not communicate dislike for Spain so much as a preference for the United States. Child complained about Spain’s weather and stated that there was “nothing to do there,” but he also reported that the home he shared with Mother was “awesome” and there were “a lot of things to do there.” Child’s general complaints about Spain did not suggest that “living in that country would be unacceptable.”