Marriage of Emilie D.L.M. and Carlos C. CA2/6

Filed 4/29/21 Marriage of Emilie D.L.M. and Carlos C. CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

In re Marriage of EMILIE 2d Civ. No. B304820 D.L.M. and CARLOS C. (Super. Ct. No. 19FL-0484) (San Luis Obispo County)

EMILIE D.L.M.,

Respondent,

v.

CARLOS C.,

Appellant.

Carlos C. appeals a domestic violence restraining order issued by the family law court. We reject his contention that California was an inconvenient forum for consideration of the application for the restraining order, and affirm. (Fam. Code, § 3427.)1

All further statutory references are to the Family Code 1

unless stated otherwise.

This appeal concerns an international custody dispute involving the two minor children of an American mother and a Chilean father. In 2016, the parties relocated to Chile from California. There, the mother, Emilie D.L.M., was subjected to acts of domestic violence and emotional abuse by her husband Carlos C., sometimes committed in the presence of the children. Frequently, the violence was occasioned by Carlos C.’s excessive alcohol consumption. Following an unsuccessful family vacation to California in 2019, Emilie D.L.M. and the children refused to return to Chile. She then filed a petition to dissolve the marriage and requested a domestic violence restraining order. In response, Carlos C. filed a petition for the return of the children to Chile pursuant to the Hague Convention. (22 U.S.C. § 9003.) Following a lengthy evidentiary hearing, the family law court concluded, among other things, that Emilie D.L.M. established by clear and convincing evidence that returning the children to Chile would subject them to a grave risk of harm. The court also issued a domestic violence restraining order against Carlos C. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Carlos C. and Emilie D.L.M. met while students at the University of California Davis Law School. Carlos C., a Chilean native, held a law degree in Chile, and was pursuing an advanced law degree at Davis. Following law school, Emilie D.L.M. passed the California state bar exam and accepted a litigation position with a Bay Area law firm. Carlos C., a permanent resident of the United States, established a legal translation service in the Bay Area. In 2006, the couple wed and, within seven years, had two children. Emilie D.L.M. soon realized that Carlos C. frequently drank alcohol and became verbally abusive to her when he was