Opinion ID: 1838204
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: competing policy considerations

Text: We lastly address whether there are any contrary policy considerations that would preclude our recognition of this cause of action. [8] We do not find that a consideration of the best interests of the children militates against recognition of this common law tort, especially given the narrow question posed by the Eleventh Circuit. Against the overwhelming weight of judicial authority, the Minnesota Supreme Court in Larson decided against recognizing this cause of action based on policy considerations. [9] 460 N.W.2d at 45-47. The majority's concern focused on the possibility of increased litigation in child custody matters and the danger that the tort might escalate intra-family disputes. See id. at 45-46; see also Zaharias v. Gammill, 844 P.2d 137 (Okla.1992) (disapproving tort as not in the child's best interests). To the contrary, the dissent in Larson concluded that recognizing the tort does further the child's best interests by encouraging the return of absent children by imposing a civil damages remedy. 460 N.W.2d at 52 (Popovich, C.J., dissenting). Like the dissent in Larson, we note the alarming statistics regarding the ever-increasing number of child kidnappings by those who do not have a superior claim to legal custody of the child. See id. at 48 (Popovich, C.J., dissenting); Joseph R. Hillebrand, Note, Parental Kidnapping and the Tort of Custodial Interference: Not in a Child's Best Interests, 25 Ind. L.Rev. 893, 894 (1991). It is obviously in the best interests of children to be returned promptly to their legal custodians. As expressed by the Iowa Supreme Court: A tort suit will be more likely to effect a speedy return of the child; it will result in better cooperation by potential third-party defendants seeking to avoid the suit; potential punitive damages will serve as an additional deterrent; and increased knowledge of a child's whereabouts will result through the broad scope of civil-case discovery. Wood, 338 N.W.2d at 127 (citing Patricia Hoff, [10] Interstate Child Custody Disputes and Parental Kidnapping: Policy, Practice and Law 14-1 (1982)); see D & D Fuller, 780 P.2d at 524. Therefore, we agree with the dissent in Larson and the weight of judicial authority that, if anything, the best interests of children would be furthered by recognizing this cause of action. While the courts must be constantly vigilant to guard against the misuse of the legal process, those who would bypass the legal system by taking children from those who have a superior right to legal custody cause a far greater affront to our system of justice. Such conduct has the potential for causing far greater harm to the children than litigation. It is this conduct that causes the real harm that the tort is designed to redress, including substantial expenses incurred by a parent in having the child returned. [11] As articulately expressed by the dissent in Larson: If one principle stands paramount in our system of jurisprudence, it is that no one person, mother, father, president or pauper stands above the law. In a case as this, the best interests of the child must be considered together with respect for our legal system. 460 N.W.2d at 52-53 (Popovich, C.J., dissenting).