The child, a boy, was 2 at the date of the alleged wrongful removal. He had spent all of his life in Germany. The parents had very recently separated. On 2 August 1991 the mother took the boy to the United States, her State of origin.
On 23 September 1991 the father’s return application was filed before the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. On 10 January 1992 the District Court dismissed the application.
On 23 January 1993 the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the latter decision and remanded the case to the District Court to determine whether, as a matter of German law, the father was exercising custody rights at the time of the removal: Friedrich v. Friedrich 983 F.2d 1396, (6th Cir. 1993) [INCADAT Reference: HC/E/USf 142].
The District Court found that the father was exercising custody rights or would have been exercising such rights but for the removal. The court also held that the mother had not established any of the exceptions. Consequently it ordered the return of the boy, but stayed the order pending the mother’s appeal.
