The applicant father brought an application under the Hague Convention for the return of the parties' one-year-old child to New York State.
The respondent mother had removed the child to Ontario without the father's knowledge or consent.
The court found that the child's habitual residence was New York State and that the father was exercising his custody rights at the time of removal.
The mother opposed the return, alleging domestic violence and substance abuse by the father, arguing that returning the child would pose a grave risk of harm under Article 13(b).
The court held that the mother failed to meet the high threshold required to establish a grave risk of harm or an intolerable situation.
The application was granted, and the child was ordered to be returned to New York State, subject to certain undertakings by the father.
