Saada v. Golan , 930 F.3d 533 ( 2019 )


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  • 19‐820‐cv
    Saada v. Golan
    In the
    United States Court of Appeals
    for the Second Circuit
    AUGUST TERM 2018
    No. 19‐820‐cv
    ISACCO JACKY SAADA,
    Petitioner‐Appellee,
    v.
    NARKIS ALIZA GOLAN,
    Respondent‐Appellant.
    On Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Eastern District of New York
    ARGUED: JUNE 18, 2019
    DECIDED: JULY 19, 2019
    Before: WINTER, CABRANES, and RAGGI, Circuit Judges.
    Respondent‐Appellant Narkis Aliza Golan (“Ms. Golan”)
    appeals from a final order of the United States District Court for the
    Eastern District of New York (Ann M. Donnelly, Judge) granting
    Petitioner‐Appellee Isacco Jacky Saada’s petition under the Hague
    Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the
    “Hague Convention”) for the return of the parties’ minor child, B.A.S.,
    to Italy. On appeal, Ms. Golan challenges the District Court’s
    conclusion that Italy is B.A.S.’s “habitual residence” for the purposes
    of the Hague Convention. She also contends that the District Court
    erred in granting the petition subject to certain conditions
    notwithstanding its determination that repatriating B.A.S. would
    expose him to “a grave risk of harm.” The District Court’s March 22,
    2019 order is AFFIRMED IN PART and VACATED IN PART, and
    the cause is REMANDED for further proceedings.
    MARISSA C.M. DORAN (Claudia
    Hammerman, Karen R. King, and Daniel H.
    Levi, on the brief), Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
    Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, NY,
    for Respondent‐Appellant.
    RICHARD MIN, Burger Green & Min LLP,
    New York, NY, for Petitioner‐Appellee.
    2
    Rachel G. Skaistis, Amal El Bakhar, and
    Harry Black, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP,
    New York, NY, for Amici Curiae Dean Jeffrey
    L. Edleson, Ph.D.; Professor Steven Marans,
    Ph.D.; Professor Evan Stark, Ph.D.; Dr. Luz
    Towns‐Miranda, Ph.D.; Dr. Marie G.
    Rudden, M.D.; the National Association of
    Social Workers; and the Leadership Council
    on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence.
    Anita F. Stork, Covington & Burling LLP,
    San Francisco, CA, Shailee Diwanji Sharma,
    Covington & Burling LLP, New York, NY,
    and Ryan R. Roberts, Covington & Burling
    LLP, Palo Alto, CA, for Amici Curiae
    Sanctuary for Families, Inc.; Pathways to
    Safety International; Domestic Violence
    Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project;
    Her Justice Inc.; Day One New York Inc.;
    National Network to End Domestic
    Violence; Lawyers Committee Against
    Domestic Violence New York; Safe Center
    LI, Inc.; Legal Momentum; Professor
    Deborah Epstein, Co‐Director, Georgetown
    University Law Center Domestic Violence
    Clinic; Battered Mothers Custody
    Conference; Lansner & Kubitschek;
    3
    Professor Leigh Goodmark, University of
    Maryland Francis King Carey School of
    Law; Professor Merle Weiner; New York
    Legal Assistance Group; Safe Horizon, Inc.;
    Urban Resource Institute; and Dr. Jacquelyn
    Campbell, National Program Director,
    Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse
    Faculty Scholars.
    JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge:
    Under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
    International Child Abduction (the “Hague Convention”),1 as
    implemented by the International Child Abduction Remedies Act,2 “a
    child abducted in violation of rights of custody must be returned to
    the child’s country of habitual residence, unless certain exceptions
    apply.”3 In this appeal, we address the scope of a district court’s
    discretion to direct that a child be returned where “there is a grave risk
    of harm that his or her return would expose the child to physical or
    1 The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
    Abduction, Oct. 25, 1980, T.I.A.S. No. 11670, 1343 U.N.T.S. 89 (“Hague
    Convention”).
    2   22 U.S.C. § 9001 et seq.
    3   Abbott v. Abbott, 
    560 U.S. 1
    , 5 (2010) (internal quotation marks omitted).
    4
    psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable
    situation.”4
    Respondent‐Appellant Narkis Aliza Golan (“Ms. Golan”)
    appeals from a final order of the United States District Court for the
    Eastern District of New York (Ann M. Donnelly, Judge) granting
    Petitioner‐Appellee Isacco Jacky Saada’s (“Mr. Saada”) petition under
    the Hague Convention for the return of the parties’ minor child, B.A.S.,
    to Italy. On appeal, Ms. Golan challenges the District Court’s
    conclusion that Italy is B.A.S.’s habitual residence, and its decision to
    grant the petition subject to certain conditions notwithstanding its
    determination that repatriating B.A.S. would expose him to a grave
    risk of harm.
    We agree with the District Court’s habitual‐residence
    determination. But we conclude that the District Court erred in
    granting Mr. Saada’s petition because the most important protective
    measures it        imposed     are unenforceable and    not otherwise
    accompanied by sufficient guarantees of performance. Accordingly,
    the District Court’s March 22, 2019 order is AFFIRMED IN PART and
    VACATED IN PART, and the cause is REMANDED for further
    proceedings concerning the availability of alternative ameliorative
    measures.
    4   Hague Convention, art. 13(b).
    5
    I.     BACKGROUND
    We draw the facts, which are undisputed for the purposes of
    this appeal, from the District Court’s thorough recitation.5
    A. The Parties’ Relationship
    On June 13, 2014, Ms. Golan, a United States citizen then living
    in New York, and Mr. Saada, an Italian citizen and resident, met at a
    wedding in Milan, Italy. Approximately two months later, Ms. Golan
    relocated to Milan and moved in with Mr. Saada. The parties were
    married on August 18, 2015, and Ms. Golan became pregnant shortly
    thereafter. The couple’s first and only child, B.A.S., was born in Milan
    in June 2016.
    Mr. Saada and Ms. Golan’s “relationship was violent and
    contentious almost from the beginning.”6 The couple “fought
    frequently,” and “Mr. Saada physically, psychologically, emotionally
    and verbally abused Ms. Golan.”7 Among other things, Mr. Saada
    yelled at Ms. Golan, called her names, slapped her, pushed her, pulled
    her hair, threw a glass bottle in her direction, and, during a
    conversation with Ms. Golan’s brother, threatened to kill her. These
    incidents, many of which occurred in the presence of B.A.S., “were not
    5 See Saada v. Golan, No. 18‐CV‐5292(AMD)(LB), 
    2019 WL 1317868
    (E.D.N.Y.
    Mar. 22, 2019).
    6   
    Id. at *5.
           7   
    Id. at *4.
    6
    sporadic or isolated . . . but happened repeatedly throughout the
    course of the parties’ relationship.”8
    Despite the significant problems in their relationship, Mr. Saada
    and Ms. Golan continued living together in Milan after B.A.S. was
    born. They secured for B.A.S. an Italian passport, medical coverage,
    identification cards, and a certificate of residence, and enrolled B.A.S.
    in a local daycare. With the exception of several trips abroad, B.A.S.
    lived continuously in Milan for the first two years of his life.
    In July 2018, Ms. Golan traveled with B.A.S. to the United States
    to attend her brother’s wedding. After the wedding, Ms. Golan elected
    not to return to Italy and moved with B.A.S. to a confidential domestic
    violence shelter in New York.
    B. Procedural History
    In Fall 2018, Mr. Saada filed a criminal complaint against Ms.
    Golan and initiated civil proceedings, including custody proceedings,
    in Italy. He also commenced this action under the Hague Convention.
    In January 2019, the District Court held a nine‐day bench trial at which
    seventeen lay and expert witnesses, including Mr. Saada and Ms.
    Golan, testified.
    On March 22, 2019, the District Court granted Mr. Saada’s
    petition. After a careful review of the evidence, the District Court first
    concluded that Italy is B.A.S.’s habitual residence for the purposes of
    8   
    Id. at *18
    (internal quotation marks omitted).
    7
    the Hague Convention. The District Court acknowledged that Ms.
    Golan had repeatedly expressed an intent to return to the United
    States, and that Mr. Saada was aware of this intent. In the District
    Court’s view, however, the totality of the circumstances—and, in
    particular, Ms. Golan’s conduct—“established B.A.S. as a[n] habitual
    resident of Italy.”9
    Next, the District Court determined that Ms. Golan had
    established that repatriating B.A.S. to Italy would expose him to a
    grave risk of harm. Specifically, the District Court concluded that
    exposing B.A.S. to severe and continuing domestic violence of the type
    documented in this action could have significant adverse effects on his
    psychological health and development. This conclusion was based on
    both undisputed expert testimony and the facts of this case, including
    the District Court’s findings that “Mr. Saada has to date not
    demonstrated a capacity to change his behavior,” has “minimized or
    tried to excuse his violent conduct,” and “could not control his anger
    or take responsibility for his behavior.”10
    Finally, the District Court held that a suite of conditions—or
    “undertakings”—would “sufficiently ameliorate the grave risk of
    harm to B.A.S.” and granted Mr. Saada’s petition subject to those
    conditions.11 The undertakings include, among others, requirements
    that Mr. Saada (1) give Ms. Golan $30,000 before B.A.S. is returned to
    9   
    Id. at *16.
          10   
    Id. at *18
    .
    11   
    Id. at *19.
    8
    Italy, for housing, financial support, and legal fees; (2) stay away from
    Ms. Golan; and (3) visit B.A.S. only with Ms. Golan’s consent.
    This appeal followed.
    II.     DISCUSSION
    On appeal, Ms. Golan challenges the District Court’s conclusion
    that Italy is B.A.S.’s habitual residence, and its decision to grant Mr.
    Saada’s petition subject to the enumerated undertakings. We affirm
    the District Court’s habitual‐residence determination but vacate its
    order insofar as it grants Mr. Saada’s petition.
    A. Standard of Review
    In cases arising under the Hague Convention, we review a
    district court’s factual findings for clear error and its legal
    conclusions—including its interpretation of the Convention and its
    application of relevant legal standards to the facts—de novo.12 Thus, as
    relevant here, although “[t]he habitual residence inquiry is heavily fact
    dependent, . . . whether the relevant facts satisfy the legal standard is
    a question of law that we review de novo.”13
    12   Ozaltin v. Ozaltin, 
    708 F.3d 355
    , 368 (2d Cir. 2013).
    13 Guzzo v. Cristofano, 
    719 F.3d 100
    , 109 (2d Cir. 2013). On June 10, 2019, the
    Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a split among the Courts of Appeal
    concerning the appropriate standard of review for habitual‐residence
    determinations. See Taglieri v. Monasky, 
    907 F.3d 404
    (6th Cir. 2018) (en banc), cert.
    granted, No. 18‐935, 
    2019 WL 266837
    (U.S. June 10, 2019). Since we affirm the District
    Court’s conclusion that Italy is B.A.S.’s habitual residence under the least
    9
    B. Country of Habitual Residence
    We take up first Ms. Golan’s challenge to the District Court’s
    conclusion that Italy is B.A.S.’s habitual residence for the purposes of
    the Hague Convention.
    In determining habitual residence, courts in this Circuit “inquire
    into the shared intent of those entitled to fix the child’s residence
    (usually the parents) at the latest time that their intent was shared,”
    considering both “actions” and “declarations.”14 We have observed
    that “[f]ocusing on intentions gives contour to the objective, factual
    circumstances surrounding the child’s presence in a given location.”15
    But we have also cautioned that, at bottom, this inquiry “is designed
    simply to ascertain where a child usually or customarily lives.”16
    On review, we see no error in the District Court’s conclusion
    that Italy is B.A.S.’s country of habitual residence. We acknowledge
    that certain evidence, particularly the declarations of both parties
    concerning Ms. Golan’s intent to return to the United States, supports
    Ms. Golan’s position. But we agree with the District Court that the
    parties’ actions tell a different story—namely, that Italy, where B.A.S.
    deferential standard—de novo review—we would necessarily affirm under the
    more deferential standards that other Circuits have applied.
    14   Gitter v. Gitter, 
    396 F.3d 124
    , 134 (2d Cir. 2005).
    15   
    Id. at 132.
          16   
    Guzzo, 719 F.3d at 109
    .
    10
    spent almost the entirety of the first two years of his life, is the country
    where he “usually or customarily lives.”17 Accordingly, we affirm the
    District Court’s habitual‐residence determination.
    C. The Undertakings
    Ms. Golan also challenges the District Court’s decision to grant
    Mr. Saada’s petition notwithstanding its determination that
    repatriating B.A.S. would expose him to a grave risk of harm.18 In
    particular, Ms. Golan contends that the District Court erred in
    concluding that a suite of undertakings—or promises by Mr. Saada—
    sufficiently ameliorates the grave risk of harm to B.A.S.
    We have long recognized that district courts are “vested with
    considerable discretion under the [Hague] Convention.”19 Thus, even
    where the abducting parent establishes that repatriating his or her
    child would expose the child to a grave risk of harm, a district court
    “is not necessarily bound to allow the child to remain with the
    abducting parent.”20 In exercising their discretion in such cases,
    17   See 
    id. Mr. Saada
    does not contest the District Court’s grave‐risk determination,
    18
    and we do not revisit it here.
    19   Souratgar v. Lee, 
    720 F.3d 96
    , 103 (2d Cir. 2013).
    20 Blondin v. Dubois, 
    189 F.3d 240
    , 246 n.4 (2d Cir. 1999); see also Hague
    Convention, art. 13 (permitting, but not requiring, contracting states to decline “to
    order the return of the child” if certain exceptions are established); U.S. Dep’t of
    State, Hague International Child Abduction Convention; Text and Legal Analysis,
    51 Fed. Reg. 10,494, 10,509 (Mar. 26, 1986) (“[A] finding that one or more of the
    11
    district courts must “take into account any ameliorative measures (by
    the parents and by the authorities of the state having jurisdiction over
    the question of custody) that can reduce whatever risk might
    otherwise be associated with a child’s repatriation.”21 Insofar as certain
    of these measures might be undertaken by courts in the country of
    habitual residence, then “the exercise of comity that is at the heart of
    the [Hague] Convention” requires us “to place our trust in th[ose]
    court[s] . . . to issue whatever orders may be necessary to safeguard
    children who come before [them].”22
    At the same time, the jurisdiction of our district courts is not
    limitless. As the Eleventh Circuit has aptly observed, “reviewing
    courts are free to enter conditional return orders” but “retain no power
    to enforce those orders across national borders.”23 And in those
    instances in which our courts lack jurisdiction to redress non‐
    compliance, “even the most carefully crafted conditions of return may
    exceptions provided by Articles 13 and 20 are applicable does not make refusal of
    a return order mandatory. The courts retain the discretion to order the child
    returned even if they consider that one or more of the exceptions applies.”).
    21   
    Blondin, 189 F.3d at 248
    .
    22   
    Id. at 248–49.
            23Baran v. Beaty, 
    526 F.3d 1340
    , 1350 (11th Cir. 2008); cf. Ermini v. Vittori, 
    758 F.3d 153
    , 168 (2d Cir. 2014) (“Once a determination properly applying the
    Convention to the facts at hand has been made, all other issues leave the realm of
    the treaty’s domain. The Convention is not, and cannot be, a treaty to enforce future
    foreign custody orders, nor to predict future harms or their dissipation.”).
    12
    prove ineffective in protecting a child from risk of harm.”24 We
    conclude that, in cases in which a district court has determined that
    repatriating a child will expose him or her to a grave risk of harm,
    unenforceable undertakings are generally disfavored,25 particularly
    where there is reason to question whether the petitioning parent will
    comply with the undertakings and there are no other “sufficient
    guarantees of performance.”26
    In this case, it is undisputed that many of the undertakings the
    District Court imposed are unenforceable because they need not—or
    cannot—be executed until after B.A.S. is returned to Italy. This
    includes several conditions that, under the circumstances, are essential
    to mitigating the grave risk of harm B.A.S. faces—namely, promises
    by Mr. Saada to stay away from Ms. Golan after she and B.A.S. return
    to Italy and to visit B.A.S. only with Ms. Golan’s consent.27 The District
    Court’s factual findings provide ample reason to doubt that Mr. Saada
    
    24Baran, 526 F.3d at 1350
    ; see also Danaipour v. McLarey, 
    286 F.3d 1
    , 21 (1st
    Cir. 2002) (“The court entertaining the petition must recognize the limits on its
    authority and must focus on the particular situation of the child in question in order
    to determine if the undertakings will suffice to protect the child.”).
    25See Simcox v. Simcox, 
    511 F.3d 594
    , 608 (6th Cir. 2007) (“Where a grave risk
    of harm has been established, ordering return with feckless undertakings is worse
    than not ordering it at all.”).
    26 See Walsh v. Walsh, 
    221 F.3d 204
    , 219 (1st Cir. 2000) (“A potential grave risk
    of harm can, at times, be mitigated sufficiently by the acceptance of undertakings
    and sufficient guarantees of performance of those undertakings.” (emphasis added)).
    27   See note 11 and accompanying text, ante.
    13
    will comply with these conditions.28 And the record does not
    otherwise contain evidence of sufficient guarantees of performance.
    Under the circumstances, we are not convinced that these particular
    undertakings are sufficient to mitigate the undisputed grave risk of
    harm that B.A.S. faces if returned to Italy. Accordingly, we vacate the
    District Court’s order insofar as it granted Mr. Saada’s petition subject
    to the conditions enumerated therein.
    D. Availability of Alternative Ameliorative Measures
    Having determined that the undertakings the District Court
    imposed are insufficient under the circumstances presented here, we
    must determine whether to direct the District Court to deny Mr.
    Saada’s petition or to remand for further proceedings concerning the
    availability of alternative measures. In our view, the latter course is
    more appropriate.
    As we have previously observed, in cases of this nature, it is
    important for courts to consider “the [full] range of remedies that
    might allow both the return of the children to their home country and
    their protection from harm.”29 District courts have “broad equitable
    discretion to develop a thorough record” on potential ameliorative
    28  See note 10 and accompanying text, ante; see also Saada, 
    2019 WL 1317868
    ,
    at *18 (recounting testimony of Mr. Saada’s expert that Mr. Saada’s “reliability was
    ‘down the tube’”).
    29   
    Blondin, 189 F.3d at 249
    (emphasis in original).
    14
    measures.30 And, in our view, it is by no means inevitable that there
    will be no conditions conducive to balancing our commitment to
    ensuring that children are not exposed to a grave risk of harm with our
    general obligation under the Hague Convention to allow courts in the
    country of habitual residence to address the merits of custody
    disputes.31
    On review, we cannot conclude that the record before the
    District Court would have permitted a finding that this is such a case.
    Accordingly, we think it appropriate to remand the cause to the
    District Court for further proceedings. On remand, the District Court
    must determine whether there exist alternative ameliorative measures
    that are either enforceable by the District Court or, if not directly
    enforceable, are supported by other sufficient guarantees of
    performance.
    In doing so, the District Court may consider, among other
    things, whether Italian courts will enforce key conditions such as Mr.
    Saada’s promises to stay away from Ms. Golan and to visit B.A.S. only
    with Ms. Golan’s consent. There is some dispute concerning whether
    it is appropriate for courts in the United States to condition orders of
    30   
    Id. 31 See
    Blondin v. Dubois, 
    238 F.3d 153
    , 163 (2d Cir. 2001) (affirming district
    court’s decision declining to order return and emphasizing that “uncontested expert
    testimony” established that “the children will face a recurrence of traumatic stress
    disorder if repatriated” (emphasis added)); see also 
    id. at 162
    (noting that “the
    authorities in [the country of habitual residence]—for reasons entirely beyond their
    control—cannot provide the children with the necessary protection”).
    15
    return on a foreign court’s entry of an order containing similar
    protective measures.32 But we do not think that international comity
    precludes district courts from ordering, where practicable, that one or
    both of the parties apply to courts in the country of habitual residence
    for any available relief that might ameliorate the grave risk of harm to
    the child.33 So long as the purpose of such an order is to ascertain the
    types of protections actually available, and the district court does not
    condition a child’s return on any particular action by the foreign court,
    there is little risk that this “practice would smack of coercion of the
    foreign court.”34
    32  Compare 
    Danaipour, 286 F.3d at 23
    (“Conditioning a return order on a
    foreign court’s entry of an order . . . raises serious comity concerns.”), with 
    Baran, 526 F.3d at 1349
    (“Undertakings may take many forms, including direct orders by
    the reviewing court providing conditional return of the child and mirror‐orders
    (also called safe harbor orders) requiring the petitioning parent to obtain a
    conditional custody order in the country of habitual residence before return of the
    child is ordered.”).
    33 In most cases, the international comity norms underlying the Hague
    Convention require courts in the United States to assume that an order by a foreign
    court imposing protective measures will guarantee performance of those measures.
    See note 22 and accompanying text, ante. But, in certain circumstances, even a
    foreign court order might not suffice. See 
    Simcox, 511 F.3d at 608
    (“[U]ndertakings
    would be particularly inappropriate . . . in cases where the petitioner has a history
    of ignoring court orders.”); 
    Walsh, 221 F.3d at 221
    (rejecting use of undertakings
    where petitioning parent “violated the orders of the courts of Massachusetts” and
    “the courts of Ireland,” and there was “every reason to believe that he [would]
    violate the undertakings he made to the district court in this case and any barring
    orders from the Irish courts”).
    34   
    Danaipour, 286 F.3d at 23
    .
    16
    Here, the District Court has already found—and the parties do
    not dispute—that Italian courts are authorized by Italian law to enter
    “criminal and civil court orders of protection” and “orders of
    supervised visitation during the pendency of custody proceedings.”35
    Although the Italian courts have not entered any such orders to date
    in the matter before us, this might be attributable in part to the parties’
    failure to apply for relief, in the ongoing custody proceedings or
    otherwise. On remand, the District Court may consider whether it is
    practicable at this stage of the proceedings to require one or both of
    the parties to do so.36 The District Court may then take into account
    any corresponding decision by the Italian courts in determining
    whether there are sufficient guarantees of performance of protective
    measures that will mitigate the grave risk of harm B.A.S. faces if
    repatriated.
    This is, of course, just one of several avenues the District Court
    may elect to pursue. As an initial matter, the District Court can attempt
    to revise certain of the undertakings it imposed in a manner that
    would render them directly enforceable—for example, by requiring
    Mr. Saada to comply with the condition before B.A.S. is repatriated.37
    35   See Saada, 
    2019 WL 1317868
    , at *13.
    36And, it almost goes without saying, the parties can petition the Italian
    courts to impose protective measures even without prompting by the District
    Court.
    37We note, for instance, that the condition pertaining to monetary support
    requires Mr. Saada to act before B.A.S. returns to Italy. See note 11 and
    accompanying text, ante.
    17
    In addition, as we have previously recognized, the District Court can
    use its “broad equitable discretion” to “request[ ] the aid of the United
    States Department of State, which can communicate directly with” the
    government of Italy to ascertain whether it is willing and able to
    enforce certain protective measures.38 Finally, the District Court can
    solicit from the parties additional evidence concerning whether—and,
    if so, to what extent—Mr. Saada has undertaken to abide by any of the
    currently unenforceable conditions. We leave these matters to the
    informed discretion of the District Court and “trust that [it] will
    conduct the[ ] proceedings on remand with the same dispatch that
    properly characterized its initial consideration” of the petition.39
    III.   CONCLUSION
    To summarize, we hold that:
    (1) The District Court did not err in concluding that Italy is
    B.A.S.’s “habitual residence” for the purposes of the Hague
    Convention.
    (2) In cases in which a court has determined that repatriating a
    child will expose him or her to “a grave risk of harm,”
    unenforceable undertakings are generally disfavored,
    particularly where there is reason to question whether the
    petitioning parent will comply with the undertakings and
    there are no other sufficient guarantees of performance.
    38   
    Blondin, 189 F.3d at 249
    .
    39   
    Id. 18 Here,
    the District Court erred in granting the petition subject
    to (largely) unenforceable undertakings despite adverse
    factual findings concerning Mr. Saada’s credibility and the
    absence of other sufficient guarantees of performance.
    (3) Because the record before the District Court does not support
    the conclusion that there exist no protective measures
    sufficient to ameliorate the grave risk of harm B.A.S. faces if
    repatriated, remand for further proceedings is appropriate.
    (4) On remand, the District Court should consider whether there
    exist alternative ameliorative measures that are either
    enforceable by the District Court or supported by other
    sufficient guarantees of performance.
    (5) Where, as here, the safety of a minor is at risk, the District
    Court, if it deems practicable, may direct one or both of the
    parties to petition Italian courts for the imposition of any
    appropriate protective measures. The District Court may
    take into account any corresponding decision by the Italian
    courts in determining whether to issue an order of return.
    For the foregoing reasons, the District Court’s March 22, 2019
    order is AFFIRMED IN PART and VACATED IN PART, and the
    cause is REMANDED for further proceedings. In the interest of
    judicial economy, any future appeals in this action will be referred to
    this panel.
    19