Stacie L. Patterson Law Blog

David Goldman has been in and out of Brazilian courts for 5 years.  In 2004, Goldman's wife took their son Sean to her native Brazil, where she subsequently divorced Goldman and re-married a Brazilian man.  Since that time, David Goldman has fought vehemently to get his son back on U.S. soil.  The case is being tried in Brazil, a fact in itself that has set precedent.   According to the Hague Convention, custody decisions are to be made by the courts in the country where a child originally lived.  Sean Goldman lived in the United States, so why the case was ultimately heard in Brazil is baffling and frustrating to many.  To make matters more complicated, Sean's mother died last year during childbirth.  It seemed that David Goldman would finally be reunited with his son, but yet again, in a baffling turn of events, Brazilian courts awarded custody to Sean's step father.  

David, believing his marriage to be happy, drove his then wife and son to the Newark airport so the two could visit her parents in Brazil for a two week vacation.  It was then that she called Goldman and told him she would not be coming home and that if he ever wanted to see Sean again, he would have to grant her full custody of the boy.  Immediately seeking a custody case, a New Jersey Court required Sean to be at the hearing.  Waiting to respond until a year later, the Brazilian Court ordered Sean to stay in Brazil, since so much time had passed.  A piece of the puzzle, that raised many eyebrows.  One wondered why the court took so long to respond to the request, with many agreeing that it was due to the wealth and status of the Brazilian step father's influential family.  In other odd aspects of the case, after Goldman's ex-wife died, her husband reportedly requested that David Goldman's name be removed from Sean's birth certificate and have it replaced with his own, and after traveling to Brazil and being denied to see Sean many times, when David Goldman was eventually able to re-unite was asked why he never came to visit.  Suggesting that the boy had been told his father had not attempted to see him.  

On Tuesday,  Supreme Court Chief Justice, Gilmar Mendes, Brazil's top judge, ruled that Sean must be returned to the U.S., granting custody to Goldman.  An action that probably should have closed the case for good.  The Brazilian federal court, however, had already ordered the Brazilian relatives to hand over the boy, an order that had been stayed shortly thereafter.  While Goldman is naturally elated with the latest twist, he "is keeping his guard up."  Understandably, given the yo-yo nature of the 5 year case.  

Not only is this case harrowing to the families involved but has become so big that it has impacted the relations between The United States and Brazil.  Ranging from discussions between President Obama and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to affecting trade between the two countries.  

"For days the Goldman camp has expressed worries the Brazilian family might try to flee or hide Sean.", though at this point, the Brazilian family's lawyer, Sergio Tostes seems willing to open up settlement negotiations.  An offer that so far Goldman is not interested in, claiming "This isn't about shared custody — I'm his dad, I'm his only parent," Goldman said. "This isn't a custody case — it's an abduction case."

Click here for full article.