Wahlfeld v. Wahlfeld

Opinion

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5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 9 10 ALEXANDRA WAHLFELD, CASE NO. 2:24-cv-01899-LK 11 Petitioner, ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 12 v. EXPEDITE 14 Respondent. 15

16 This matter comes before the Court on Petitioner Alexandra Wahlfeld’s Motion to Expedite 17 Pursuant to Hague Convention. Dkt. No. 10. Ms. Wahlfeld “requests that the Court enter an 18 Expedited Scheduling Order in the form submitted with this filing.” Id. at 1. She requests that in 19 the alternative, “if the Father fails to appear for the motions hearing the Mother requests the entry 20 of a Show Cause Order requiring the Father to appear and to show cause why JW should not be 21 returned forthwith to Germany.” Id. at 1–2. 22 The Court denies the motion as moot for several reasons. First, Ms. Wahlfeld did not 23 suggest any dates in her motion or proposed expedited scheduling order, Dkt. No. 10-1, so the 24 requested relief is too vague to grant. Second, because Mr. Wahlfeld has appeared, Dkt. No. 14, 1 Ms. Wahlfeld’s requested alternative relief is unwarranted. Third, the Court is aware that Article 2 11 of the Hauge Convention requires courts to “act expeditiously in proceedings for the return of 3 children,” typically within six weeks, and the Court will continue to take steps to resolve this 4 matter expeditiously. Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Int’l Child Abduction in 1980,

5 T.I.A.S. No. 11670, S. Treaty Doc. No. 99–11; see also Chafin v. Chafin, 568 U.S. 165, 179 (2013) 6 (stating that “courts can and should take steps to decide these cases as expeditiously as possible”).1 7 To that end, the Court has scheduled mediation for January 16, 2025. Dkt. No. 38. 8 Accordingly, the Court DENIES as moot Ms. Wahlfeld’s Motion to Expedite Pursuant to 9 Hague Convention. Dkt. No. 10. 10 Dated this 15th day of January, 2025. 11 A 12 Lauren King United States District Judge 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1 Although Ms. Wahlfeld filed this matter on November 18, 2024, Dkt. No. 1, she did not serve Mr. Wahlfeld until 24 December 19, 2024, Dkt. No. 37.