In a case in Kings County, a husband brought a Writ of Habeas Corpus before Justice Stephen Mostofsky sitting in the Supreme Court of Kings County. He claimed this proceeding was brought under the emergency jurisdiction under New York Domestic Relations Law 76.C and The Hague Convention. He asked that the child, with the respondent wife, be returned to him in England. He’d been living in England since 2019. The child had been in Brooklyn with the Mother since 2021.
History Of The Case
In 2019, the Father moved the child from California to England. He took this action without the Mother’s permission. Then, upon a visit with the Mother in Brooklyn in August of 2021, she refused to return the child to the Father.
Case Starts In California
The Father originally brough a proceeding in the Superior Court in California. In that proceeding, his petition was denied and the court declined to send the child back to England, determining that pursuant to The Hague Convention, the couple had no shared intent for the child to reside in England. The court also found there was not enough evidence to determine England was the “habitual residence” of the child. The court noted the husband’s cases in California and in New York indicated he did not rely on a Hague Convention case to set up a new habitual residence in England and therefore the child would remain with the Mother in Brooklyn.
Elliot S. Schlissel is an attorney practicing marital and family law for more than 45 years. He can be reached at elliot@sdnylaw.com and 516-561-6645.
