Published:
Father of Kidnapped Children Taken to Egypt Awarded $3 Million by US Court
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A Maryland Court of
Appeals upheld a jury's decision on Wednesday, granting Michael Shannon over 3
million dollars in punitive and compensatory damages. The decision is stemming
from visitation interference against Shannon's ex-wife and
mother-in-law, after they abducted their two sons toEgypt. This is a
groundbreaking case and is the first successful case in the US filed over an
international kidnapping and is precedent setting.
International fathers' rights attorney Jeffery M. Leving, who is
coordinating all litigation in the US andEgypt for the father, said this
verdict is part of his strategy to put pressure on the mother to return the
children. Leving has also retained Egyptian counsel to persuade the Egyptian
court inCairo to recognize and enforce Mr. Shannon's custody orders entered
in a US court.
"The decision was closure to six years of criminal and civil court dates.
Throughout, [I] have yet to be once on the 'losing' side of any judge or
jury's outcome. Yet the changes in the state and federal law have done nothing
for my family or sons. [The] only solace is they all know -- or will someday
know the extraordinary efforts gone to recover the boys, and that we have
never stopped thinking of them ... " says Mr. Shannon.
The court opinion, written by Judge Lynne A. Battaglia, says the Khalifas
"Consciously and knowingly have deprived a father of the love and comfort of
his two children for an extended period of time." The opinion also stated that
Mr. Shannon will never be fully compensated for the time he has lost with his
children.
Jeffery M. Leving is representing Mr. Shannon and working closely with
Shannon's counsel inMaryland. Leving is coordinating all efforts and contacts
between Shannon and his Egyptian attorney, who will represent him at trial for
his pending appeal inEgypt to attempt to convince the Egyptian court to order
the mother to return the boys to the US. The boy's mother, who has dual
citizenship inEgypt and the US, will face criminal charges if she returns to
the US. The ex-wife's mother was convicted of kidnapping and incarcerated in
Maryland, but was recently deported toEgypt.
Shannon v. Khalifa will have a significant effect on the future of
parental rights. Not only is this case a victory for Mr. Shannon, but it's a
victory for parents who have had their children abducted and taken out ofthe
United States," says Fathers' Rights attorney Jeffery M. Leving. Leving went
on to say this decision should be a warning to anyone who interferes with a
parent's visitation rights. He says in addition to contempt or other
sanctions, the wrongdoer could now face the prospect of having to pay a
fortune.
Jeffery Leving is available for comment. Please contact his media
coordinator, Danielle Masterson, at (312) 730-5864 or Jennifer Whiteside at
(312) 296-3666.
SOURCE Law offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd.
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