Torry Hansen Ordered to Pay Over $100,000 with $29,000 to “Agency” UPDATED

Since the initial article is unclear on who the “agency” is, we will leave it vague for now. This story has been so misrepresented that we are not sure if the “agency” is WACAP or NCFA. The attorneys are getting the most initial payment, not Artyom (formerly known as Justin)!

“A judge in Tennessee has ordered that an American woman who sent her adopted son back to Russia pay more than a $100,000 in damages, child support, and legal fees.

In 2010 Torry Hansen was living in Shelbyville in April 2010 when she put her then 7-year-old adopted son back on a plane to Russia alone with a note saying she no longer wanted to care for him. The adoption agency sued, and in March, a Tennessee judge ruled she’s liable for child support.

On Thursday, that same judge ordered Hansen to pay her adopted son $58,000, the adoption agency $29,000 and attorney fees of nearly $63,000 as well as $1,000 a month in child support.

Hansen has since moved to California, although her exact whereabouts are unknown. She was never criminally charged in the incident that sparked outrage among Russian authorities.”

Woman Who Sent Russian Boy Back To Pay $100K In Damages

[News Channel 5 5/17/12]

Other posts on Torry can be found here

REFORM Puzzle Pieces

 The agency washes their hands of pre-adoption training, postplacement help and ALSO gets money after an annulled adoption. Sick!

Update: We have seen the actual ruling that does state that WACAP is the agency that is receiving slightly more than $29,000. See the pdf:  Hansen.

 

Russia weighs in on thischilling precedent. “Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Pavel Astakhov believes that the U.S. court has passed a fair judgment in the case of Torry Ann Hansen, he said on his Twitter page.

The court ordered Hansen, who had abandoned her Russian foster son Artyom Savelyev, to pay him compensation and alimony until he is an adult, to a total of $150,000.

“This landmark decision is of utmost importance to Artyom Savelyev, who was wronged by his foster mother, as well to the whole practice of adoption” Astakhov said. He said that the law must prosecute foster parents who abandon their responsibilities.

“By establishing such an important precedent together with the U.S. justice system we will do our best to protect our children who are adopted by foreign families” he said. Astakhov also stressed that whatever country the foster parents are from, they must treat their adopted child well and provide him or her with a happy life.”

Russian ombudsman welcomes U.S. court’s ruling in Hansen case

[RAPSI News 5/18/12]

“The agency sued Hansen to deter others from doing anything similar and to show the Russians that “you cannot do this in America and get away with it,” Crain said.

“It has certainly caused concern on the part of Russian officials that unless there are consequences when a parent abandons a child placed in their home, there’s a need for safeguards to make sure this never occurs,” Crain [WACAP attorney] said.

The judge said in his order that when Hanson adopted the boy she signed a contract acknowledging that it was possible the child could have physical, emotional or behavior problems that were unreported and even unknown to the adoption agency.”

US Judge: Woman Who Sent Back Russian Boy Must Pay

[ABC News 5/18/12 by Sheila Burke/Associated Press]

Crain says in this article “”It was her decision to breach that contract and return the child to Russia … and it triggered that obligation,” Crain said. He also explained that $1,000 per month would go into a special account set aside for the boy “to provide for his future.”

Crain stated after the hearing that it been a “long hard fight” over the past two years, calling it a complex legal case involving international issues. He added they now know where to locate Torry Hansen and will be contacting her to enforce Russell’s order.”

WACAP President “Thogersen said they learned of the boy’s abandonment from the Russians and were “devastated” by the incident. At first, there was talk of bringing the boy back to America and a foster family was even set up for Artyom by WACAP, but then the media storm over the incident erupted, bringing that plan to a halt.” [This was the Korean AP that they tried to insert into this mess.]

 

“The abandonment of Artyom resulted in all Russian adoptions being suspended, including 40 that were “in the works” with WACAP at the time, forcing the agency to make refunds to the potential families. [Oh boo hoo!This is why WACAP sued…because they had to pay back other clients!]

The WACAP suit was first filed in Bedford County Circuit Court, then transferred to Juvenile Court, where it was dismissed by Judge Charles Rich last year. The current suit was refiled against Torry for breach of contract and child support last July, but she has never responded to the litigation. Nancy was dropped from the second suit last year.” [Obviously Nancy would have to be dropped as she did sign the contract. ]

 

Hansen ordered to pay $150K, monthly child support

[Shelbyville Times-Gazette 5/18/12 by Brian Mosely]

Update 2:

“Hansen has hired Edward M. Yarbrough to represent her in the case. Yarbrough served as the U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee from 2007 until 2010, when he became a partner with the Nashville law firm of Walker, Tipps & Malone PLC. ”

“Two motions were filed late Friday in Bedford County Circuit Court by Yarbrough — one to set aside the default judgment, with another to amend or alter it.”

“The motions state that Hansen admits her guilt in failing to follow the court’s orders and to respond to discovery requests, but explained the failures were “excusable in view of the circumstances that surround those failures and the mental condition …” of Hansen during those times.

She “deeply regrets those failures,” intending no disrespect to the court or its order, with Yarbrough further stating that if Russell will set aside the default judgment and allow Hansen to be heard, “additional facts and circumstances” would be learned “that will materially alter the Court’s assessment of the facts of the case,” resulting in different findings.”

“The motions will be heard before Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell at the Marshall County Courthouse on July 13 at 1 p.m.”

“Hansen said she would also show that her failure to appear was due to a series of mistakes “that resulted from a combination of bad advice and fear,” also stating that she was without an attorney when the default judgment was granted in March, complicating her ability to understand the legal proceedings.

Yarbrough stated that “substantial issues” remained unresolved in the case, mainly the nature of the return of the boy to Russian authorities.

Hansen would show to Russell that the funds for the child support will not be used for the boy’s benefit, “but will in fact be lost in a bureaucratic system and never be used for the purpose intended by the Court.” Also, changes in Hansen’s financial condition, as well as other factors, “could result in a greatly modified order for child support …”

According to an three-page affidavit signed by Hansen, her failure to appear in court in February was the result of a misunderstanding of the court’s orders and the purpose of the hearing. The failure to show for a Feb. 20 deposition “was a result of a combination of child care issues, medical issues, fear and a lack of sufficient notice to travel …” Hansen also claimed.

She also notes “numerous failures to communicate between myself and council that have resulted in adverse rulings against me.”

“I regret that my actions may have seemed disrespectful to the Court, and I can assure Judge Russell that I have no intention of repeating any other those errors,” Hansen wrote, adding that with her new attorney, “I will be able to comply with all orders in a timely fashion from this point forward.”

 

Hansen hires new attorney

[Shelbyville Times-Gazette 6/19/12 by Brian Mosely]

Update 3: Torry appears in a Tennessee courtroom on July 13, 2012. It didn’t go well for her. The judge upholds the “$150,000” total payment.

Again, that $150,000 is not exactly correct. It is $29,361 to WACAP, the placing agency who obviously didn’t vet her good enough yet has now made money TWO times on Artyom; $62,735 for WACAP’s/NCFA’s attorney fees !and $58,240.46 to the Russian government supposedly because that is what Artyom’s care has cost so far (BULL) plus $1,000 a month for his care until he is 18. They claim that 556 days at Boarding school 19 cost $44, 735 LOL…riiiiiiiiight… and that his SOS care to date (183 days) was $13,505.36.

Let me state this another way: WACAP and attorneys get $92,006!!! And we are to shout for joy that THIS is justice!I think not.

She has no job, which means she will likely not be able to pay most of this. A lot of people may feel good about this decision, but Artyom is not going to be seeing this money. The focus SHOULD be on his well-being and looking into WHY WACAP would approve Torry as an AP  and punishing the still unnamed homestudy agency and WACAP.

Judge upholds payments in Russian adoption

[The Tribune 7/13/12 by Associated Press]

“Hansen, who now lives in California, went through a string of lawyers as she contested the child support and never responded to summonses to appear in court or at depositions. After Lee ordered her in May to pay $150,000 in child support, she hired a new attorney, former federal prosecutor Edward Yarbrough of Nashville.

In court on Friday, Hansen told the judge her previous attorneys did not keep her informed about the case and advised her she did not need to come to court. She also said that she gave birth to a daughter last year and could not come to court because of the pregnancy.

In earlier court briefs she blamed her behavior on a “combination of bad advice and fear.”

Ruling from the bench, Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell upheld his default judgment against Hansen, ordering her to pay child support for Artyom, who now lives in a group home in a Moscow suburb. Russell said Hansen had not cooperated with the court and he wasn’t convinced by her arguments.

Hansen never spoke to the press before Friday, but her mother, Nancy Hansen, told The Associated Press in 2010 that her daughter, then 33, had to return the boy when he developed serious behavior problems. Nancy Hansen claimed he hit, screamed and spit at his adoptive mother and threatened to burn down the Hansen home and kill members of the family.

In court on Friday, Torry Hansen told a similar story, crying as she described how the boy they had called Justin threatened to kill her and stab her mother.

Hansen said she never sought help from the police or the Department of Children’s Services. She said she did try to call psychologists but found they all had a waiting period before they could see the boy.

Hansen said Artyom had been living with her parents for about two months before he was sent back to Russia. She said it was her parents’ decision and that they put him on the plane, although she was aware of the decision and acquiesced.”

“After the judge’s ruling Hansen attorney Yarbrough said the litigation is not over and his client still has options, such as appealing the order or requesting that it be modified.

Hansen had no comment on the ruling.”

 

Judge upholds child support in Russian adoption

[The Press Enterprise 7/13/12 by Kristin Hall/Associated Press]

Update 4: This Inside Edition interview has a few more quotes.

“Torry Hansen broke her silence, speaking out in a courtroom about the case that’s made her the face of failed international adoptions.

She said, “I have never mistreated or abused him or any child.”

Hansen first came under international condemnation more than two years ago for the way she and her parents sent her adopted son packing from their home in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

The little boy, whom she named Justin, was sent back to his native Russia. She put him on an airplane by himself for a 10-hour flight to Moscow. A letter was pinned inside the boys pocket. In the letter, Hansen wrote, “This child is mentally unstable. He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues/behaviors. I was lied to and misled by the Russian orphanage in order to get him out of their orphanage.” It then said, “For the safety of my family, friends, and myself, I no longer wish to parent this child.”

Hansen said in court, “He was very violent. I can say that he wanted to kill me. I can say that he tried to kill my sister and that he started a fire. And after he started the fire, that’s when my parents decided, because he started it in their home, to send him back.”

Hansen said it was her parents who made the decision to put him on a plane back to Russia, causing an international incident.

Larry Crain represents the Seattle-based adoption agency that Torry Hansen used to adopt the little boy. Crain told INSIDE EDITION, “She signed a contract. She knew what she was signing, and she simply breached it.” [Unbelievable!]

The little boy now lives in a group home in a Moscow suburb.

Crain said, “I just hope he is making strides to become stable.””

Woman Defends Sending Adopted Son Back to Russia

[Inside Edition 7/16/12 ]

Update 5: “An American woman who sent her adopted Russian son back to Moscow on a one-way flight is appealing court-ordered child support for him, saying she cannot afford to pay $1,000 a month.

Torry Hansen, who now lives in Redding, Calif., filed a notice of appeal Tuesday after a judge last month in Tennessee upheld his decision to order her to pay $150,000 in child support.

Hansen was living in Shelbyville in April 2010 when she sent then 7-year-old Artyom Saveliev back to Russia with a letter stating he had behavioral problems and she didn’t want him anymore.

In court records, Hansen says she is unemployed and has no income and asks the court to halt the child support while the case is appealed.”

US woman appeals child support for adopted Russian

[NewsDay 8/16/12 by The Associated Press]

Update 6:”A former Shelbyville resident who sent her adopted child back to Russia in 2010 may have to pay up to $30,000 in back child support, following a decision by the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

 

Torry Hansen has not made monthly court-ordered payments of $1,000 since early 2013, according to documents in the case.

Hansen had adopted Justin, born as Artem Vladimirovich Saveliev, from Russia in 2009. But in April 2010, after experiencing difficulties with the boy, she placed him on a one-way flight to his home country, seeking to annul the adoption.

The case sparked worldwide outrage and an international incident, with Russia imposing a ban on adoptions by Americans in 2013.

 

 

Hansen has claimed that the Bedford County court lacked jurisdiction to require her to pay child support and to hold her in contempt — adding that she did not violate the court’s order “willfully.”

But Judge Brandon O. Gibson of the Tennessee Court of Appeals recently upheld the decision of Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell, and the case has been remanded back to the local court “for further proceedings.”

One of the parties in the matter will have to file a motion for the case to move forward again in Bedford County courts.

Russell had ruled that Hansen was $8,000 behind as of September 2013. To date, Hansen could be as much as $30,000 behind in the child support payments.

The Bedford County court clerk’s office received checks in February and April 2013 from Hansen’s mother, which “contained lengthy diatribes covering the front and back of the checks, alleging that the child support order was obtained by fraud, illegal and void,” court documents read.

 

 

The first check was sent to attorneys for the World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP), which filed a lawsuit against Hansen seeking child support.

However, the court clerk at that time, returned the second check to Hansen’s mother, instructing her “to reissue a check without lengthy writings that could cause delays in processing.”

The clerk also told the Hansens that the child support checks were to be mailed to lawyers for WACAP rather than the court clerk per a ruling by Russell, but no further checks were received from them.

 

 

WACAP filed a lawsuit against Hansen in juvenile court in 2010, seeking child support — alleging that Justin was dependent and neglected.

Juvenile Court Judge Charles Rich dismissed the case, which was appealed to the circuit court, and the petition was amended to add Justin’s name to the lawsuit and to seek child support along with damages arising out of the adoption contract.

After protracted proceedings that continued until 2012, Russell granted WACAP’s motion for default judgment against Hansen for failing to file an answer to the petition and failing to cooperate in discovery.

Russell conducted a hearing, at which Hansen did not appear, awarding damages and fees to WACAP totaling $150,000, plus $1,000 a month in child support for the child, which was to be placed in a Russian bank account.”

Hansen may be $30K behind in payments to Russian child [Shelbyville Times-Gazette 6/10/15 by Brian Mosely]

Update 7: “An American woman who set off an global furor when she sent a Russian child whom she had adopted back to Moscow, has been ordered to pay $1,000 a month in child support and $150,000 in various fees. It was in April 2010 that Artyom Saveliev, then 7 years old, arrived in Moscow by plane from Washington, with a note from his adoptive mother, Torry Hansen, saying that she was returning the child she had adopted in 2009 because the boy was unbalanced, violent and that she no longer wanted him. The child arrived with a backpack full of clothes, a Russian passport with a U.S. visa and the mother’s letter canceling the adoption. The move set off global complaints from Russians, already unhappy with an adoption process that sent children to the United States. Russian Federation is one of the largest sources of foreign adoptions for U.S. families, with about 400 children sent overseas each year. ”

Woman who sent adopted boy back to Russia must pay $1,000 a month  [The Spoked Blog 12/17/15 by Vivian Poole]