International Child Abduction Remedies Act

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Jaded Mahelet Ruvalcaba Martinez v. Peter Valdez Cahue

Case No.: 16-1609

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and BAUER and FLAUM, Circuit Judges.

Focus: International Child Abduction Remedies Act

Respondent’s failure to return child to Mexico to parent with legal custody of the child was improper.

“Martinez’s initial decision to move A.M. to Mexico was lawful: she had sole custody over A.M. under Illinois law, and neither Illinois law nor the Convention precluded her from moving with her son to Mexico with or without Cahue’s permission. Cahue had no rights of custody over A.M. that qualified Martinez’s position. Once in Mexico, A.M. adapted readily to his new home, such that by August 2014, when his father refused to return him, he was being kept from his habitual residence. Cahue retained A.M. in violation of Martinez’s rights of custody under Mexican law—rights that she exercised continuously. Cahue’s retention of A.M. was therefore wrongful under the Convention. Finally, applying a defense here would not serve the aims of the convention.”

Reversed with order to return child to Mexico

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.