interim custody order

Timothy Abbott, a British citizen, and Jacquelyn Abbott, a United States citizen, married in England in 1992. Their son A. J. A. was born in Hawaii in 1995 after the couple moved there for Mr. Abbott’s astronomy work. The family relocated to La Serena, Chile, in 2002, where marital discord led to separation in March 2003. Chilean courts granted the mother daily care and control of A. J. A. while awarding the father direct and regular visitation rights, including every other weekend and the full month of February each year. Under Minors Law 16,618, article 49, Chilean law conferred a ne exeat right on the father requiring his authorization before the child could leave the country. The mother obtained a ne exeat order from the Chilean family court prohibiting removal of the boy. In August 2005, while proceedings remained pending before the Chilean court, the mother removed A. J. A. from Chile to Texas without permission from the father or the court. A private investigator later located the mother and child in Texas. The mother filed for divorce in Texas state court in February 2006, seeking modification of the father’s rights including sole authority over the child’s residence. Mr. Abbott filed an action in Texas state court requesting visitation and an order to show cause why the child should not return to Chile. The state court denied return but granted liberal visitation periods in Texas during February 2006. In May 2006, Mr. Abbott filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas under the Hague Convention and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act seeking the child’s return to Chile. After a bench trial at which only Mr. Abbott testified, the District Court denied relief in July 2007. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed on the same rationale. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a conflict among the circuits on the status of ne exeat rights.