Ohlander v. Larson

114 F.3d 1531 (10th Cir. 1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ohlander (W) was a Swedish citizen. Larson (H) was a citizen of the U.S. They were married in 1989 in Utah. They had a daughter and decided to take their five-month-old daughter to Sweden. When they got there, W decided she wanted to stay and went into hiding with her daughter and severed contact with H. H eventually re-established contact with W and W returned to Utah with the child and remained for seven months. In 1992, W returned once again to Sweden without H's consent. In 1993, H decided to kidnap his child from Sweden and did so. W then filed a petition pursuant to The Hague Convention seeking the return of her daughter. H was ordered to deliver the child to W, but W was under a court order not to leave Utah with the child. Upon getting the return of the child, W fled to Sweden. An order of contempt was issued directing W to return the child, and W failed to comply. H then filed a Convention application for the child's return. W filed a motion under Rule 41(a)(2) to dismiss her district court petition based on the Convention's article 12. The court conducted a hearing on the motion to dismiss and was informed of a proceeding by H in Sweden. The district court denied the motion based on the contempt. A bench trial was conducted, and W's removal of the child to Sweden was found to be wrongful under the Convention. W was ordered to return the child and aid was requested from Contracting States under the Convention. The Swedish court ruled that W's citizenship had changed.