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Judge rules father coerced into signing adoption form

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Sandra McIntosh

The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution

Tuesday, Fulton Superior Court Judge Leah Sears-Collins awarded David and Heather Vogels their son, ruling that an adoption agency had coerced Mr. Vogel into signing his surrender of the infant and that the couple hadn't fully understood the deadline.

Cradled in his mother's arms, Jeffrey gurgles peacefully, studying the new face above his.

The adults that surround him seem unable to get enough of touching him, watching him - when he needs a diaper change three people vie for the chance.

For his grandparents, it's their first chance to hold the nearly 10-week-old infant. For his parents, it's the first time since Feb. 18, when they saw him at the adoption agency they'd given him to.

"He's bigger, more talkative," said David Vogel, 18, watching his son cooing in the arms of his wife, Heather, 17. "He's changed a lot since I saw him."

The last time the Vogels saw their son was in the offices of the Friends of Children adoption agency. They'd returned Feb. 18 to reclaim him, but were told they were too late - the last day they could change their minds was Feb. 15.

But Tuesday, Fulton Superior Court Judge Leah Sears-Collins awarded the Vogels their son, ruling that the agency had coerced Mr. Vogel into signing his surrender of the infant and that the couple hadn't fully understood the deadline.

Tuesday evening the young family rested in the home of David's mother, where they've been staying pending the outcome of their suit to regain their son. The couple, unmarried when Jeffrey Allen was born, married March 9.

The couple's legal problems aren't over yet. Attorney Mark Booz, of the firm of Troutman, Sanders, Lockerman & Ashmore, said he is appealing the judge's order for the agency and opposed the infant's return to his parents pending the outcome of the appeal.

The Vogels also have a $1 million punitive damages suit pending against the agency for "illegally retaining" the baby.

Joyce Goldberg, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Resources, which regulates adoption agencies, said "We are gathering information on the case and will be looking to see if there are any issues we need to be involved in."

   

Infant returned to teen parents in custody dispute

Judge: Father coerced into signing adoption form

Sandra McIntosh

The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution

April 16, 1991

A tiny, dark-haired infant was returned to his teenage parents today despite an appeal of the case by the adoption agency that is trying to keep the boy.

Fulton Superior Court Judge Leah Sears-Collins ruled that the baby's father was coerced into signing an adoption consent form and that the adoption agency suspiciously prevented the parents from seeing their son until after their 10-day grace period to change their minds.

Jeffrey Allen has been at the heart of a dispute between his parents, David and Heather Vogel, and the Friends of Children adoption agency they surrendered him to a day after his birth Feb. 4.

Judge Sears-Collins said since Jeffrey had not been placed with an adoptive f amily, the battle was mainly between the Vogels and "an adoption agency seeking finality in order to make, what appears to be, a quick and handsome profit from the placement of a child in an adoptive home."

Testimony during the case showed that the agency receives at least $25,000 for each healthy white infant it places.

Judge Sears-Collins ordered the infant, who has remained in foster care, brought to the front of the courtroom and delivered to his parents. Mr. Vogel is 18, and Mrs. Vogel is 17.

But the agency's attorney, Mark Booz of Troutman, Sanders, Lockerman & Ashmore, objected, saying he was going to appeal the ruling.

"While an appeal is pending no change of custody should be made," Mr. Booz said. "That is the law in this state."

The judge refused, saying it "wasn't in the best interest of this child to remain between a rock and a hard place." She agreed, however, to order the Vogels not to take the child out of the state pending the outcome of the appeal.

"Y'all had a close one," Judge Sears-Collins admonished the couple as they got to hold Jeffrey for the first time since Feb. 18. "Don't treat your son like that anymore."

After the hearing, surrounded by tearful family members, Mrs. Vogel stroked her son's hair as he wiggled in his father's arms.

"He's bigger," she said, "but he's still mine."

   

Teens fighting for baby's return

Battle with adoption agency resumes in Fulton court today

Sandra McIntosh

The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution

April 15, 1991

They're both teenagers, married barely a month, but today Heather and David Vogel plan to enter a Fulton County courtroom and fight for the family they want to become.

An Atlanta adoption agency, Friends of Children Inc., has custody of their son, born Feb. 4, and is refusing to return the baby to them. The agency says the Vogels missed by three days its deadline for changing their minds about placing the child for adoption.

The youngsters - he's 18, she's 17 - say they thought they had until Feb. 18 to reclaim their son, the day they asked for him back.

Now a judge must decide who will raise the pudgy baby with long wisps of dark hair and an uncertain future.

Most adoption disputes take place long after a baby has been placed with new parents. The Vogel case is unusual - and has attracted national attention - because the couple is fighting an agency for custody of their child, and because the dispute focuses on a missed deadline that amounted to hours instead of months.

"The waiting is the hardest," says Mrs. Vogel, who named the infant Jeffrey Allen. "We can't go on with our lives until we know if he's going to be with us."

The court must decide whether both teens, who married about five weeks after their son's birth, revoked the surrender of their son in time, and whether David Vogel was coerced into signing his release.

As the legal maneuvers drag on, Jeffrey remains in a foster home under a restraining order issued March 22 by Fulton Superior Court Judge Leah Sears-Collins, who ordered the agency not to place the infant in an adoptive home. The agency gets at least $25,000 per baby as a placement fee, according to court documents.

Heather Vogel gave birth shortly after 1 p.m. Feb. 4. By 2 p.m. Feb. 5 the agency brought her the adoption papers to sign - one hour after the minimum waiting period of 24 hours. Mr. Vogel signed the same day.

Under state law, the couple had 10 days to change their minds. But they were unclear on when those 10 days were up. They say they thought the 10 days, which began Feb. 6, were up the 16th, a Saturday, which would have given them until Monday the 18th. But Judge Sears-Collins ruled that the deadline expired at midnight Feb. 15.

Those three days could cost the Vogels their child.

The teens, who are living in Gwinnett County, concede that an adoptive family would have more resources to raise the boy. "None of the three families they gave me to pick from made under $100,000 a year, and one made something like $220,000," Mrs. Vogel said.

Mr. Vogel manages a fast-food restaurant that he's been with for five years, starting as a cleanup boy. Mrs. Vogel has a temporary job. It won't be easy to raise a baby, the Vogels concede, but they insist they'll be able to make it financially.

The Vogels say money shouldn't be the only determining factor.

"How do we know they're going to love him as much as we would?" Mrs. Vogel says.

The Vogels met in school when she was 13.

"I ran into her," Mr. Vogel said. "I mean, I turned a corner and knocked her on her butt."

Within 10 days they were dating, and they've been together ever since except for the standard teen spats over the years. She was 16 when they moved in together.

She couldn't afford baby

When Heather became pregnant, their relationship became strained. Heather threw Mr. Vogel out when she was five months pregnant.

Unmarried and unemployed, Heather Vogel turned to an adoption agency.

"I knew I couldn't afford to care for him," Mrs. Vogel recalled Sunday. "I never would have given him up if I had known David and I would get back together."

When Heather agreed to surrender custody of her child, Friends of Children agreed to pay about $230 a month toward her rent and food, as well as paying the 5 percent of Heather's medical expenses that weren't covered by her father's insurance. The agency spent about $1,300 on Heather.

Heather and David, who had not seen each other since their split, began talking again after Jeffrey was born.

"We talked about everything," Mrs. Vogel said. "Whether we should keep our baby, whether we should give him up, whether we should get married, everything."

Heather and David had an appointment to visit Jeffrey at the agency Feb. 13, but the agency canceled, saying the baby had a doctor's appointment, and rescheduled their visit for Feb. 18, according to testimony from both sides.

Decided to marry Feb. 15

With pressure mounting and time running short, the couple decided Feb. 15 to marry and raise their son.

The Vogels said they spent the weekend finding a place to live and preparing to bring their son home. But when they arrived at the agency Feb. 18, they were told they couldn't have Jeffrey.

"We waited until the last minute because we wanted everything set up and to be perfect," Mrs. Vogel said.

Judge Sears-Collins has ruled that Mrs. Vogel voluntarily surrendered Jeffrey but hasn't ruled yet on whether Mr. Vogel signed under duress. He testified at a March 22 hearing that on Feb. 6 and 18 he was told that if he revoked his surrender he would be responsible for the agency's $1,300 in expenses. But Mrs. Vogel's mother already had signed an agreement saying she would repay the money if the baby wasn't placed for adoption.

David offered to borrow the money to repay the $1,300, but Friends of Children would not accept the money - or turn over the infant.

Final ruling by Wednesday

At the March 22 hearing, Friends of Children attorney Mark Booz of the law firm Troutman, Sanders, Lockerman & Ashmore refused to allow the couple to see their son.

Judge Sears-Collins will hold an evidentiary hearing in the case today and will rule no later than Wednesday on who gets the baby.

The Vogels are optimistic as they await the end of their legal battle. They even began buying baby supplies.

"We've gotten a bassinet and a car seat and clothes and pacifiers and lots of other things," Mrs. Vogel said.

They have dreams for their son. Some are simple dreams, like teaching him to ride a bike, to swim, to ride a horse. Others are grander, and costlier, like sending him to college.

But David Vogel's most immediate dream is so basic that most other parents take it for granted.

"I just want to hold him for a long, long time."

1991 Apr 17