Egervary v. Young

PRECEDENTIAL Argued on January 16, 2003 OPINION This appeal in a Bivens1 action arose out of an international child custody dispute. Aniko Kovacs, a citizen and resident of Hungary, wanted to regain custody of her son, Oscar Jonathan Egervary (Oscar). The father, Oscar W. Egervary (Egervary), had taken Oscar from Hungary to Pennsylvania without Kovacs' permission. Frederick Rooney, a private attorney acting at the request and with the assistance of U.S. State Department officials, agreed to represent Kovacs in a proceeding to regain custody of Oscar. Pursuant to the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA), 42 U.S.C. § 11601, et seq., Rooney presented a petition to a United States District Judge at an ex parte hearing. During this hearing, Rooney argued successfully for the issuance of an order permitting him to enlist the aid of local law enforcement officials and U.S. Marshals in seizing and removing Oscar from the United States without notice to Egervary. It is now clear that minimal due process required notice and an opportunity to be heard. For that reason, the ex parte order was unconstitutional insofar as it permitted Oscar's removal from the United States without providing Egervary with either a pre- or post-deprivation hearing.