Summary
The Supreme Court held that returning a child to a foreign country under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction does not render an appeal of the return order moot. The Court concluded that the possibility of a re-return order and vacatur of related expense orders constituted effectual, if partial, relief. It vacated the Eleventh Circuit's judgment and remanded the case.
Questions Presented
- Whether an appeal from a Hague Convention return order becomes moot when the child has already been returned to the foreign country.
- Whether the possibility of a re-return order, sanctions against a party within the court's personal jurisdiction, or vacatur of related expense orders constitutes effectual relief sufficient to preserve Article III jurisdiction.
- What procedures courts should use to protect prompt resolution of Hague Convention return proceedings while considering stays pending appeal.
Holdings
- The return of a child to a foreign country pursuant to a Hague Convention return order does not render an appeal of that order moot.
- The uncertainty that Scotland might not enforce a re-return order, or that Lynne Chafin might not comply with an order directed to her, does not make the appeal moot.
Factual background
Jeffrey Lee Chafin, a United States citizen, and Lynne Hales Chafin, a United Kingdom citizen, married in Germany and had a daughter. After the family lived in Alabama, Lynne Chafin was deported and later obtained an order under the Hague Convention and ICARA requiring the child's return to Scotland. The child was returned before Jeffrey Chafin's appeal was resolved, and Scottish custody proceedings followed.
Procedural history
The District Court held a bench trial, determined that Scotland was the child's country of habitual residence, and ordered the child's return. After the child departed for Scotland, the Eleventh Circuit dismissed the appeal as moot under Bekier v. Bekier and directed the District Court to dismiss and vacate its order. The District Court did so and separately ordered Jeffrey Chafin to pay more than $94,000 in expenses. The Supreme Court vacated the Eleventh Circuit's judgment and remanded.