Case Update (2020): Babcock v. Babcock; Provisional remedies under ICARA, no notice for temporary restraining order
The International Child Abduction Remedies Act allows a parent who is seeking the return of his or her child under the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention to request provisional remedies (see Sec. 9004). In the case of Babcock v. Babcock , Mrs. Babcock did just that (in August 2020). She asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order, preventing Mr. Babcock from removing their 11-year-old from Iowa pending a hearing on the merits. She had filed a Hague Abduction return petition with the federal court. She asked that the court grant this temporary restraining order without notice to Mr. Babcock, which is permitted under FRCP 65(b)(1) only when: (1) specific facts in her affidavit/verified complaint show that immediate and irreparable injury would result before Mr. Babcock would be heard in opposition to the TRO request, and (2) Mrs. Babcock's attorney certified any efforts to give notice to Mr. Babcock and why it should not be required. The TRO can be g...