Pro Bono
Seeking to Reunite Father, Son
Eduardo Ramirez has gone years without seeing his young son. The Colombian’s visitation with the child, who now lives in Durham, is severely limited. Raleigh attorneys Bob Meynardie and Leslie Lane Mize worked pro bono to improve his situation so that he and his son could at last have a meaningful relationship.
Mr. Ramirez runs a small store outside Bogota, Colombia, where his son, Alejandro, was born. When the boy was 4, his mother left her native country to resettle in the United States to pursue career opportunities. The parents kept in touch, and the mother on two occasions flew her son to the U.S. for visits. After the third trip in 2002, however, she did not return Alejandro to his father and eventually cut off all communication with him.
In 2005, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children referred the case to Nelson Mullins. The Firm has a history of providing pro bono services to the organization. The Firm filed a petition under the Hague Convention asking for the child to be returned to his father. The petition was dismissed in December 2007, under a Hague provision that a child could be considered settled if the child has been in another country more than a year.
The father continued to seek a relationship with his son. It was important to him that Alejandro know and visit his native country, learn its culture, and get to know his extended family. His visitations with his son in the U.S. are very limited and not satisfactory to him, in addition to the cost of closing his store and purchasing air fare and lodging.
Mr. Meynardie and Ms. Mize represented Mr. Ramirez in a trial in 2007 to determine the terms of the father’s visitation rights. Before the trial, Mr. Ramirez was denied a visa, so the two attorneys stepped in to assist him in filing the proper documents. Communications with their client have been difficult as Mr. Ramirez speaks no English. Nelson Mullins staff have assisted with interpretations.
Following the initial trial, the judge recused himself before a final order was entered, so the two attorneys prepared to represent Mr. Ramirez at a retrial. Shortly before the trial, the son told Mr. Ramirez he did not want to see him nor visit the country. Mr. Ramirez made the difficult decision not to pursue visitation in Colombia. A consent order was entered stating that the terms of future visitation were to be agreed to by the parties or to be ordered by the court. There will be no visitation in Colombia until or if Alejandro decides that he is ready to visit Colombia.
