Friedrich v. Friedrich
Sixth Circuit
78 F.3d 1060 (1996)
Jeana Friedrich (defendant), an American servicewoman stationed in Germany, separated from her German husband Emanuel Friedrich (plaintiff) and days later moved to Ohio with their young son, Thomas, without telling Emanuel. Emanuel obtained a German custody order and sued in federal court under the Hague Convention and its implementing statute to have Thomas returned; on remand from an earlier appeal, the district court found Emanuel was exercising custody rights under German law at the time of removal and that Jeana had failed to establish any Convention defense, ordering Thomas's return to Germany, and Jeana appealed again.
Whether a child's removal from the country of habitual residence is wrongful under the Hague Convention when the non-removing parent was exercising custody rights under that country's law at the time of removal.