Source: http://www.massachusetts-divorce.com/cases/Lozano-v-MontoyaAlvarez.html
Timestamp: 2018-12-17 20:21:01
Document Index: 245969506

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 1', 'Art. 20', '§11601', '§11603', '§11601', '§11603', 'Art. 4']

Massachusetts Divorce Case: Lozano vs. Montoya Alvarez MA Case No. 12-820
Massachusetts Divorce Case - Lozano vs. Montoya Alvarez - No. 12-820
Argued December 11, 2013 - Decided March 5, 2014
Opinion of the Court 572 U. S. ____ (2014) LOZANO v. MONTOYA ALVAREZ NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the preliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. 12-820
To address "the problem of international child abductions during domestic disputes," Abbott v. Abbott, 560 U. S. 1, 8 (2010), in 1980 the Hague Conference on Private International Law adopted the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Hague Convention or Convention), T. I. A. S. No. 11670, S. Treaty Doc. No. 99-11 (Treaty Doc.). The Convention states two primary objectives: "to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any Contracting State," and "to ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law of one Contracting State are effectively respected in the other Contracting States." Art. 1, id.,
The return remedy is not absolute. Article 13 excuses return where, for example, the left-behind parent was not "actually exercising" custody rights when the abducting parent removed the child, or where there is a "grave risk" that return would "place the child in an intolerable situation." Hague Convention, Arts. 13(a)-(b), Treaty Doc., at 10. A state may also refuse to return the child if doing
so would contravene "fundamental principles . . . relating to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms." Art. 20, id., at 11.
This case concerns another exception to the return remedy. Article 12 of the Convention states the general rule that when a court receives a petition for return within one year after the child's wrongful removal, the court "shall order the return of the child forthwith." Id., at 9. Article 12 further provides that the court, "where the proceedings have been commenced after the expiration of the period of one year [from the date of the wrongful removal], shall also order the return of the child, unless it is demonstrated that the child is now settled in its new environment." Ibid.
The United States ratified the Hague Convention in 1988, and Congress implemented the Convention that same year through the International Child Abduc tion Remedies Act (ICARA). 102 Stat. 437, 42 U. S. C. §§11601-11610. That statute instructs courts to "decide the case in accordance with the Convention." §11603(d). Echoing the Convention, ICARA further provides that "[c]hildren who are wrongfully removed . . . are to be promptly returned unless one of the narrow exceptions set forth in the Convention applies." §11601(a)(4). Finally, ICARA requires the abducting parent to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that Article 12's exception to return applies. §11603(e)(2)(B).
After a 2-day evidentiary hearing, the District Court denied Lozano's petition. 809 F. Supp. 2d 197. The District Court concluded that Lozano had stated a prima facie case of wrongful removal under the Hague Convention. Id., at 219-220. Prior to her removal, the child was a habitual resident of the United Kingdom, see Hague Convention, Art. 4, and Lozano had custody rights that he
was actually exercising at the time of removal, see Arts. 3(a)-(b).
Alito, J., concurring 572 U. S. ____ (2014)
LOZANO v. MONTOYA ALVAREZSUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
So, too, is the interpretation of the courts of our sister signatories. See Abbott, supra, at 16. The United Kingdom's House of Lords (at the time that nation's highest court) has held that "a settled child might nevertheless be returned" by a court in the exercise of its discretion-- a conclusion driven in part by acknowledgment of the in-equity of rewarding concealment. In re M, [2008] 1 A. C. 1288, 1304, ¶31 (Eng. 2007) (opinion of Baroness Hale of Richmond). Likewise, the Supreme Court of Ireland has concluded that courts have equitable discretion to order return of a child who has become settled. See P. v. B. (No. 2), [1999] 4 I. R. 185. I am unaware of any high courts of states signatory that have concluded to the contrary.
1. Except where otherwise noted, the facts are taken from the District Court's findings. Like the courts below, we refer to Montoya Alvarez and Lozano's daughter as "the child" to protect her identity.
2. Article 6 of the Hague Convention requires each Contracting State to "designate a Central Authority to discharge the duties which are imposed by the Convention upon such authorities." Treaty Doc., at 8.
3. The District Court held in the alternative that even if equitable tolling could apply, it would not be warranted in this case because Lozano had contact information for Montoya Alvarez' sister Maria in New York. Lozano's solicitors did not attempt to contact Maria to determine if Montoya Alvarez and the child were there. 809 F. Supp. 2d, at 229-230.
4. Lozano contends that a single-judge decision by an English family court adopted equitable tolling without referring to it by name. See In re H, [2000] 2 F. L. R. 51, [2000] 3 F. C. R. 404 (Eng.). It is unclear whether the logic of that decision survived the decision of the Court of Appeals for England and Wales in Cannon.
5. In the State Department's view, the Hague Convention confers equitable discretion on courts to order the return of a child even if the court determines that the child is "settled" within the meaning of Article 12. See Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 19-25. If accurate, that interpretation would reinforce that Article 12 is not meant to provide repose to the abducting parent, and it would underscore that the 1-year period is not a statute of limitations. But we do not decide whether, and under what circumstances, a court may exercise discretion to order return notwithstanding the child's subsequent settlement. In the Court of Appeals, Lozano failed to challenge the District Court's decision not to exercise its discretion to order the return of the settled child, see n. 3, supra, and that issue is beyond the scope of the question presented before this Court.
6. Lozano argues that the United States delegation referred to the
1-year period as a "statute of limitations" at various points during and after the drafting process. Brief for Petitioner 27-28. Because the determination whether the 1-year period is a statute of limitations depends on its functional characteristics, it is not significant that the delegation used that label. In any event, we doubt that the remarks of a single delegation are sufficient under these circumstances to establish the " 'shared expectations of the contracting parties.' " Olympic Airways v. Husain, 540 U. S. 644, 651 (2004) (quoting Air France v. Saks, 470 U. S. 392, 399 (1985)).