Tann v. Bennett, 807 F.3d 51

Petitioner Lisa Tann (U.K. citizen, resident of Northern Ireland) alleged respondent George Bennett wrongfully abducted their son J.D. to the United States and filed an ICARA petition seeking the child's return under the Hague Convention.
The district court found Northern Ireland to be J.D.'s habitual residence but denied Tann's petition based on the child's preference to remain in the U.S., allowing the child to stay.
Tann appealed the district court's denial to the Second Circuit.
While the appeal was pending, a New York Family Court (Orleans County) awarded full custody to George Bennett.
The Bennetts moved to dismiss the appeal as moot, arguing the New York custody order means this Court can no longer grant effective relief.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the New York custody order moots Tann's ICARA appeal	Tann: appeal not moot; Hague Convention prevents a state custody judgment from precluding a return remedy and this Court can still grant relief (return)	Bennetts: the NY custody judgment resolved the dispute and prevents this Court from granting effective relief, so the appeal is moot	Denied motion to dismiss; appeal is not moot — parties retain a legally cognizable interest and Court can grant relief (return)

Glitter v. Gitter, 396 F.3d 124 (2d Cir. 2005) (describing Hague Convention purpose to protect children from wrongful removal)
Mota v. Castillo, 692 F.3d 108 (2d Cir. 2012) (discussing Convention aim to prevent forum-shopping for custody)
Ermini v. Vittori, 758 F.3d 153 (2d Cir. 2014) (if removal is wrongful, child must be returned unless an exception applies)
In re Application of Adan, 437 F.3d 381 (3d Cir. 2006) (Convention bars host country from deciding custody merits when return is required)
Walker v. Walker, 701 F.3d 1110 (7th Cir. 2012) (holding that allowing an abducting parent to moot return petitions by obtaining a local custody order would subvert the Convention)