Columnist Sandy Thompson: Supreme Court backs Norwegian mom’s quest

Sandy Thompson

Friday, April 12, 2002 | 4:40 a.m.

THE NEVADA SUPREME COURT last week tried to right a terrible wrong done to a Norwegian mother and -- more importantly -- to her two young daughters.

For two years Cisilie Vaile has been fighting to regain custody of her daughters, then 5 and 9, who were taken by her ex-husband, Scotlund, from her home in Norway. On Thursday the Supreme Court ruled that the girls should be returned to her because Scotlund used an invalid custody order from Family Court to unlawfully take them. They said Family Court had no jurisdiction in the custody case because neither the Vailes nor their children ever lived in Nevada.

The court also found that Scotlund fraudulently obtained a divorce in Nevada because he lied about living here, in violation of the state's six-week residency law in divorce cases.

In an unusual ruling, the split court found that the Vaile divorce decree was "voidable" but not void. That means it is legally valid but there's a possibility it can be challenged in court. If the Supreme Court had declared the divorce not valid there could have been chaotic consequences since Cisilie has remarried. Scotlund, who lives with the girls in Texas, also remarried but is divorced. The majority opinion said the Supreme Court ruling only applies to custody matters in the case.

In dissenting opinions, three justices said the entire divorce decree should be voided.

The issue is important because under the divorce decree, Cisilie was given no assets from the eight-year marriage and no child support for the time the children lived with her. Cisilie said Scotlund, described as a wealthy software engineer, coerced her into signing the one-sided, 23-page agreement. He then used it to obtain an uncontested divorce in Family Court.

The Supreme Court said Family Court Judge Dianne Steel should have conducted a hearing on the divorce because it may have uncovered Scotlund's lies about his residency, as well as the false affidavit submitted by a resident witness.

On the custody issue, the Supreme Court said Steel should have made a determination according to the Hague Convention, which states that custody should be decided where the children have "habitual residence." That was Norway, not Las Vegas.

The Supreme Court opinion notes that the Vaile case was fraught with misrepresentations. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Cliff Young said he was disturbed by the behavior of Scotlund and one of his previous attorneys.

"The attorney prepared a complaint that falsely alleged Scotlund's residency in Nevada," Young wrote. "The divorce attorney knew or should have known that Scotlund had not been a resident of Nevada for six weeks when he signed the complaint. Further, the affidavit signed by the resident witness was cleverly drafted by the divorce attorney in a misleading manner in an effort to corroborate residency."

The Supreme Court will provide a copy of its opinion to the State Bar of Nevada and the Clark County District Attorney's Office for action.

Although Cisilie "won" her Supreme Court appeal, her ordeal is far from over. Her Las Vegas attorney, Marshal Willick, has expressed concern that Scotlund will flee with the girls before the new custody order can be enforced.

A friend says Cisilie is "upbeat and positive" and wants to travel to Texas as soon as possible. Hopefully the Texas courts won't be roped into this case, further delaying her reunion with her daughters, 11-year-old Kaia and 7-year-old Kamilla. Since the girls were taken from her two years ago, Cisilie has kept in contact with them, visiting as often as she could despite living a half-a-world away. After Thursday's Supreme Court ruling, she talked to the girls by phone and they are "excited but worried about telling their dad."

It took the Supreme Court more than a year to rule on Cisilie's appeal. Ironically, the court once chided a Family Court judge for taking too long to decide custody cases. The justices noted the toll that such delays take on children. To children, time is precious.

Imagine how Kaia and Kamilla feel.