Jeremiah W. Holder v. Carla R. Holder

Jeremiah W. Holder ("Jeremiah"), a member of the United
States Air Force stationed in Germany, appeals the order of
the district court staying his petition for return of his children
from Washington State to Germany under the Hague Conven-tion
on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
("the Hague Convention"), Oct. 25, 1980, 19 I.L.M. 1501, as
implemented by the International Child Abduction Remedies
Act ("ICARA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 11601-11610. Jeremiah had
previously commenced divorce and custody proceedings
against Carla R. Holder ("Carla"), the children's mother, in
California state court. As a result of those pending state court
proceedings, the district court stayed the action pending reso-lution
of Jeremiah's state court appeal, invoking Colorado
River Water Conservation District v. United States, 424 U.S.
800 (1976). Carla cross-appeals the district court's denial of
her request for attorney's fees and costs.

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text of the Court's opinion.

We conclude that the district court should have promptly
adjudicated Jeremiah’s Hague Convention petition in accordance with the purposes of the treaty and its implementing
legislation. The Hague Convention seeks to prevent an
abducting parent from gaining any advantage in litigation by
providing the left-behind parent with an expeditious avenue
for seeking return of the abducted child in addition to those
remedies available under the local laws of the country to
which the child has been taken. With those purposes in mind,
we conclude that Jeremiah’s decision to file for custody in
state court in California, but bring his Hague Convention petition
in federal court in Washington, does not now mean that
he is barred from raising them in federal court by the preclusive
effect of the state court judgment or that he has waived
his rights under the Hague Convention.

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