US dad wins another round in Brazilian court fight to regain custody of 9-year-old son

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US dad wins Brazil court ruling on son’s custody

RIO DE JANEIRO — A U.S. father who won another round in his legal fight to regain custody of his 9-year-old son living in Brazil is expected to land in Rio on Thursday, hoping to be reunited with the boy.

But David Goldman’s own attorney warned that additional appeals could block the handover of his son, Sean — which a federal court ruled must happen on Friday at the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro.

“He’s really happy, but he is worried about any eventual future decision that could block the boy being handed over to him,” said Ricardo Zamariola, Goldman’s attorney.

Previous rulings favorable to Goldman have been scuttled by other Brazilian courts. Zamariola said he was certain lawyers for Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, the Brazilian stepfather with whom Sean lives, would appeal, perhaps to the Supreme Court. Zamariola said he didn’t expect a final resolution until at least the first half of 2010.

The stepfather’s attorney, Sergio Tostes, declined to comment.

The boy’s maternal grandmother has said her grandson wants to stay in Rio. She has filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking that Sean’s desires be considered. A similar request from the Brazilian family was denied earlier this year.

The child, who has dual citizenship, has been shielded from speaking directly to the news media.

“I haven’t examined it yet, I’ve just now received a copy of the ruling,” Supreme Court justice Marco Aurelio Mello told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper’s Web site on Thursday. “I’ll make my decision within 48 hours.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if Mello’s ruling would halt the handover of the boy.

Goldman’s lengthy court battle to get custody of Sean has gained international attention as President Barack Obama, the U.S. Congress and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have all urged the child’s return.

Goldman, who lives in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, was not present for the ruling and didn’t return a request for comment made to his U.S. attorney, Patricia Apy. Zamariola said he had spoken with Goldman and expected him to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

The case began in 2004 when Goldman’s wife, Bruna Bianchi, took the 4-year-old Sean to her native Brazil.

Goldman says it was to be a two-week vacation. But she stayed and so did the boy. She eventually obtained a Brazilian divorce from Goldman and remarried.

Goldman was already seeking his son’s return under an international treaty that covers cross-border child abductions when his former wife died last year giving birth to a daughter.

Her death generated more interest in the case, which has been discussed this year by top-level diplomats in Washington and the Brazilian capital, Brasilia. It also has been the subject of congressional hearings in the U.S. and has prompted protests in both countries.

Goldman and Sean were reunited in February for the first time since his son was taken to Brazil. They have not seen each other since June.

Associated Press writers Alan Clendenning in Sao Paulo and Geoff Mulvihill in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, contributed to this report.