MOSCOW, March 27 - RAPSI. A court in Tennessee, USA, will hear on May 17 a lawsuit filed by the World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP) against Ann Tory Hansen, the U.S. adoptive mother of Russia-born Artyom Savelyev, the plaintiff's lawyer Larry Crain told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Tuesday.
Experts and witnesses are expected to participate in the hearing.
The lawsuit stemmed from the circumstances surrounding Hansen's denial to take care of Artyom and the following moratorium on the adoption of Russian children by U.S. parents.
Savelyev arrived from Washington to Moscow on April 8, 2010 with a note saying Hansen did not want to parent him as he allegedly had mental problems. The boy spent only half a year with her family. Previously, he lived in the Russian Federation Maritime Territory with his mother. When she was deprived of her parental rights, he lived for several years in a children's home.
Hansen adopted Artyom with the help of WACAP.
The agency sued Hansen in July referring to the breach of contractual obligations concerning the boys maintenance.
The trial was rescheduled several times because of the Hansen's failure to appear before the court despite the court orders: she reportedly moved to a different state and only contacted the assistant judge by fax and mail. The plaintiff's lawyer said in this respect that Hansen had every opportunity to take part in the litigation, but she displayed her contempt of court.
Hansen, who has changed several defense attorneys, suspects the court of collusion with the plaintiffs representative. She also suspects the plaintiff of collusion with Russia and points to the active involvement of childrens ombudsman Pavel Astakhov in the case.