A judge Monday ruled that an 11-year-old girl fighting a court order to return to her biological parents may go ahead with her lawsuit challenging that order.
Jenny Yang is fighting to stay with the couple who have raised her from infancy.An attorney for biological parents Long Han Hong and Phan Hue Ong argued that Jenny's case should be dismissed based on recent rulings in the case of 2-year-old Jessica Schmidt, who was ordered returned to her biological parents in Iowa earlier this month.
But Kent County Circuit Judge Robert Benson ruled Monday there are distinctions between the cases involving Jenny and Jessica, including Jenny's claim that her biological parents have been abusive during court-ordered weekend visits. According to her attorney, the couple physically and verbally abused her and have threatened to beat her unless she calls them "Mom" and "Dad."
Another distinction is the ages of the children involved, the judge said.
"Jessica was only 2. She was not expressing any personal preference," Benson said. "Jenny is of sufficient age . . . to have a say."
The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 18.
After the hearing, the sixth-grader said she was just glad her opinion would be recognized. Jessica "was a whole lot younger than I am. . . . I've lived a whole lot longer with my (custodial) parents," Jenny said.
Jenny has been living with Mike Seng Yang and Tuyet Trieu since she was 4 months old.
At the time, Hong and Ong were recent Vietnamese immigrants struggling on welfare. They said they believed the transfer was temporary. In 1984, they signed an agreement giving the Yangs legal custody of the girl. Hong and Ong now say they didn't understand the agreement.