United States First Circuit

The district court's denial of a father's petition for return of his two daughters to Turkey, pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, is affirmed, where: 1) the district court did not err in rejecting the mother's claims of sexual abuse under Article 13; 2) the Convention does not allow a federal district court to toll equitably the one-year period that must elapse before a parent can assert the "now settled" defense as is asserted by mother here; 3) the Convention does not prevent the district court from ordering the return of "now settled" children, and the district court erred in holding otherwise; but 4) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it determined, in the alternative, that it would not order the return of the "now settled" children under its equitable powers.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/11/2013
• Published 09/11/2013

Judges

• LYNCH

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel