The applicant father brought an application under the Hague Convention seeking the return of the parties' one-year-old son from Ontario to California.
The respondent mother argued that the child was habitually resident in Ontario and that returning him would expose him to a grave risk of harm due to alleged abuse.
The court found that the child's habitual residence was California, as it was the only place where both parents lived together with the child, and the father had not consented to a change in residence.
The court also dismissed the mother's Article 13(b) defence, finding insufficient evidence that a return would create an intolerable situation.
The application was granted, and the child was ordered returned to California, where custody and access issues would be determined.