Madonna and Guy Ritchie have found themselves in the midst of a residential battle after one of their two teenage sons refused to return from London to the United States to be with his mother.
Rocco, 15, disobeyed his mum’s demand to board a plane from London, where he’s staying with Ritchie, so Madge took the issue to court on Wednesday to force the teen to return to New York.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Deborah Kaplan ordered Rocco to come home but Ritchie’s lawyer made it clear that he would not do it voluntarily, the New York Post reports.
“He has expressed very clearly that he does not want to return to New York,” Ritchie’s attorney Eric Buckley told the judge.
A source close to the case said Rocco had been travelling with the Material Girl singer across the world for the last two months.
“The boy said he didn’t want to stay with her,” the source said. “He’s not getting along with his mum, which is not a surprise for a child that age.”
There is also a pending court proceeding in the UK, where Rocco has his own lawyer.
The Manhattan judge said Rocco would also have a court-appointed lawyer in the New York custody case, where the teen could tell the judge whether he wants to live with mum or dad.
But first he must come to New York and face his mum, the judge said.
Madonna argued that the dispute belongs in New York, where she lives, and where the divorce agreement was registered in 2009.
Kaplan told her to discuss the dispute with her ex-husband before they return to court in the coming weeks.
