Tax Refund Dispute In Bankruptcy and a Suit Under the Hague Convention

In re Hundley, No. 09-1899, concerned a dispute over ownership of a tax refund between a non-debtor spouse and the trustee of husband's bankruptcy estate, involving a question of whether a non-debtor spouse is entitled to a portion of a pre-petition tax refund, where the couple filed a joint return and the non-debtor spouse earned no income for the tax year for which the return was filed.  However, because there is no controlling statute or precedents on the issue, the matter is certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Court. 

Nicolson v. Pappalardo, No. 10-1125, involved a father's petition seeking return of his daughter to Australia, claiming under the Hague Convention that the child's mother had wrongfully retained the child in the U.S.  In affirming the district court's judgment in favor of the father, the court held that there is no clear and unequivocal expression of an agreement by the father to have final custody determined in a Maine court, nor are there any convincing written renunciation of his rights to this effect. 

Related Resources:

• Full text of  In re Hundley
• Full text of Nicolson v. Pappalardo