Jones Day attorneys secure return of child to mother in Dominican Republic pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

Client(s) Abad, Nancy Maria Bueno

Five-year-old E.M.H.B (the "child") was returned to his mother in the Dominican Republic on January 17, 2014 after being wrongfully retained by his father in Perth Amboy, New Jersey since January 3, 2013. In October 2012, the mother, Nancy Maria Bueno Abad (the "Mother") allowed the father, M.H.L. (the "Father") to take the child to the United States for vacation until no later than January 3, 2013. On December 5, 2013, Jones Day commenced an action on behalf of the Mother in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey for the return of the Child pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the "Hague Convention"). A temporary restraining order was immediately entered and subsequently converted into a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Father and Child from leaving the jurisdiction and requiring that their passports remain with the Clerk of Court pending the Court's final determination of the matter. The strength of the Mother's case resulted in a prompt and favorable settlement, which involved having the Father voluntarily return the Child to the Dominican Republic and admit to the Child's habitual residence being the Dominican Republic. The settlement further conditioned any future summer visits with the Father on several requirements to reduce the risk of any future wrongful retention by the Father. The Mother expressed overwhelming gratitude to Jones Day for its assistance in reuniting her with her child.