Aroonsakul v. Flanagan

464 N.E.2d 1091, 124 Ill. App. 3d 626, 80 Ill. Dec. 108, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1874
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 8, 1984
Docket83-0553
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 464 N.E.2d 1091 (Aroonsakul v. Flanagan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aroonsakul v. Flanagan, 464 N.E.2d 1091, 124 Ill. App. 3d 626, 80 Ill. Dec. 108, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1874 (Ill. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

JUSTICE O’CONNOR

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Chaovanee Aroonsakul, appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict finding defendant, Charles Larkin Flanagan, not guilty of the paternity of her infant son, Ryan, born February 19, 1981. We affirm.

Plaintiff filed this paternity action on March 19, 1981. After denying defendant’s motion to dismiss, the trial court, on plaintiff’s petition, ordered the parties and the infant to submit to comprehensive genetic blood testing, including the statutorily authorized Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) blood test (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 40, par. 1401 et seq.). The tests were performed at Mt. Sinai Hospital on October 14, 1981, under the supervision and control of Dr. Chang Ling Lee, professor of pathology at Rush Medical School, board certified in clinical pathology and blood banking, and recognized expert with 14 published articles on the subject of paternity testing and HLA.

The HLA test is based on the scientific fact that every person’s white blood cells contain identifiable markers or “antigens,” which he inherits: one “A” group antigen and one “B” group antigen from each parent, as a pair. When both the antigens have been clearly defined, a person is considered “full house” for that antigen group, meaning that there is no possibility of any other antigen being carried. The HLA test administered in the instant case showed that the infant Ryan’s two “B” antigens were B27 and B35. The test also showed that plaintiff carried B15 and B35 antigens. Therefore, because plaintiff’s genetic makeup is void of a B27 antigen, her child could not have inherited one from her and must have received it from his father. The results also showed, however, that defendant carried B8 and B35 antigens, making him incapable of passing a B27 antigen to plaintiff’s child and leading to the conclusion of non-paternity.

Dr. Lee also administered a separate and independent “Km” blood serum test which showed the infant Ryan to possess a specific protein serum marker which was found in neither plaintiff’s nor defendant’s blood, likewise leading to the conclusion that defendant could not have fathered plaintiff’s child.

Plaintiff moved to suppress all evidence of the aforesaid tests on the grounds that during the months preceding the tests, defendant had been treated for a liver abscess for which he had received blood transfusions, and that defendant had also ingested certain medications in conjunction with this ailment and also for an arthritic condition, both of which could possibly have rendered the test results less reliable. Plaintiff also filed a motion in limine requesting an evidentiary hearing prior to trial for the purpose of suppressing the test results. Defendant in turn filed a motion for summary judgment, based on the validity of Dr. Lee’s findings, which was supported by the affidavit of Dr. Thomas Harwood, a physician specializing in surgical pathology. Alternatively, defendant moved to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint based on the test results, pursuant to the Act on Blood Tests to Determine Paternity (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 40, par. 1401 et seq.). The trial court denied all of the above motions by both parties, permitted plaintiff to take extensive discovery regarding defendant’s liver ailment and medications, and ordered the case to trial. The court also denied a motion by defendant to limit the testimony at trial to only those experts who administered the court-ordered test.

Prior to trial, some nine months after defendant had ceased medication for his liver abscess, defendant submitted to a second HLA blood test, this time at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center. The test was administered by Karen James, Ph.D., and director of the clinical immunology laboratory at Rush, under the supervision of Dr. Allan Luskin, associate professor of immunology and medicine and director of clinical services in immunology at Rush. The results obtained were consistent with Dr. Lee’s findings excluding defendant from paternity. In addition, four of defendant’s five brothers submitted to HLA blood tests which were administered by Dr. Ruta Radvany, assistant professor of surgery and director of the tissue typing laboratory at Northwestern Hospital. These tests revealed that defendant’s siblings inherited the following four “B” antigens from defendant’s parents, who were deceased: B8, B14, B35 and B44. Under the “full house” concept, these results indicated that neither of defendant’s parents had carried a B27 antigen, making it a “genetic impossibility” for defendant to have inherited the antigen or to have passed it on to plaintiff’s child.

Defendant first testified at trial pursuant to section 60 of the Civil Practice Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 110, par. 60), now section 2 — 1102 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 110, par. 2 — 1102). Defendant stated that he was a 55-year-old physician, specializing in internal medicine and on the staff of Northwestern Hospital. He and plaintiff lived in the same building on North Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. He first met plaintiff socially at a New Year’s Eve party in the building on January 1, 1980, although he had known her professionally prior to that time. He first had intercourse with plaintiff in late February of that year. Between February and July of 1980, the parties had intercourse between six and 12 times. Defendant stated that he experienced some ejaculatory difficulty during that time and did not believe that he was able to achieve orgasm. Nevertheless, in response to a question about birth control, defendant stated that he had practiced withdrawal during sex with plaintiff. He believed he became aware of plaintiff’s pregnancy in late June of 1980, and had sex with her one time after that. He did not send plaintiff to a gynecologist, nor did he accompany her to any abortion clinic. In late May or early June 1981, defendant underwent treatment for a liver abscess, for which he ingested the medication Flagyl for 10 days as well as Chloroquin for a period of weeks up until September of 1981. He had also taken a thyroid hormone called Synthroid for a number of years, and may have had some “growing old” arthritis called osteoarthritis. After plaintiff’s baby was born, she phoned him several times, asking him to come see the child. He visited her once briefly in the hospital, while making his rounds. It was stipulated that defendant refused to sign the child’s birth certificate, and he at no time agreed to the child’s being called Flanagan.

Plaintiff then testified that she was a 37-year-old physician with her own private practice, and was house doctor for the building in which she and defendant lived. She was single and had never been married. On January 13, 1980, she told defendant that she would consider having sex "with a Caucasian man, but not with him. Nevertheless, in February she began having intercourse' with defendant approximately two to three times a week, and later approximately once a week, up until August of 1980. Plaintiff stated that after she started dating defendant she did not have intercourse with anyone else until after her baby was born on February 19, 1981. She was aware that defendant had an orgasm inside her during this time; however, she did not believe that she was able to conceive, and had expressed this opinion to her friends. She stated that defendant drove her to an abortion clinic and became angry when she said she did not want to have an abortion.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Sudwischer v. Estate of Hoffpauir
589 So. 2d 474 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1991)
State of Minnesota ex rel. Gulley v. Caldwell
555 N.E.2d 752 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Partee
511 N.E.2d 1165 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
Lukas v. American National Bank & Trust Co.
508 N.E.2d 368 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
Aroonsakul v. Flanagan
507 N.E.2d 1 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
464 N.E.2d 1091, 124 Ill. App. 3d 626, 80 Ill. Dec. 108, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1874, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aroonsakul-v-flanagan-illappct-1984.