Seaman v. Peterson

Full title: PANDITA CHARM-JOY SEAMAN, Petitioner, v. JOHN KENNEDY PETERSON, Respondent

Court: United States District Court, M.D. Georgia, Macon Division

Date published: Jan 20, 2011

CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:10-CV-462 (MTT) (M.D. Ga. Jan. 20, 2011)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:10-CV-462 (MTT).

January 20, 2011

ORDER

MARC TREADWELL, District Judge

This matter is before the court on the Respondent's Emergency Motion to Stay Order (Doc. 55) (the "Motion"). For the following reasons, the motion is denied.

In an Order (Doc. 53) dated January 14, 2011, this Court ordered that, under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the Respondent's children must be returned to Mexico, their place of habitual residence. However, recognizing that the immediate return of the children to Mexico might effectively foreclose any relief the Respondent may be entitled to on appeal, the Court stayed the enforcement of the Order until January 24 to allow the Respondent the opportunity to seek a stay from the Eleventh Circuit. In accordance with the Order and Fed.R.App.Proc. 8, the Respondent asks this Court for a stay pending appeal.

Given the facts of this case, as discussed in detail in the January 14 Order, further delaying the children's return to Mexico is not appropriate. Therefore, the Motion is DENIED. However, Rule 8 allows an appellant to file a motion for a stay with the court of appeals if the district court denies a motion to stay pending appeal. To allow the Respondent to request a stay from the Eleventh Circuit, the Court extends its stay to January 31.

SO ORDERED, this 20^th day of January, 2011.