England v. England

William England (plaintiff) and Deborah England (defendant) had two children, 13-year-old Karina, who was adopted, and four-year-old Victoria. All four were United States citizens who resided in Australia. William, Deborah, Karina, and Victoria took a vacation to the United States, and Deborah decided to stay in the United States with Karina and Victoria. Deborah filed for divorce in Texas, and William petitioned a district court for an order to repatriate Karina and Victoria to Australia, pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (convention). Karina did not wish to return to Australia. Under the convention, an abducted child had to be repatriated to her country of habitual residence, with four exceptions. One exception was found in Article 13(b): a court could refuse repatriation if repatriation would expose the child to a grave risk of psychological harm (GRPH). The district court determined that Australia was the habitual residence of Karina and Victoria and that their removal was wrongful under the convention. Evidence established that Karina experienced a turbulent childhood before William and Deborah adopted her. From that evidence alone, the district court concluded that Karina would face a GRPH if repatriated and refused repatriation based on Article 13(b), among other things. William appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, arguing, among other things, that the district court erroneously concluded that Karina would face a GRPH if repatriated.