Commonwealth ex rel. Wright v. Lacy

435 A.2d 630, 291 Pa. Super. 185, 1981 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3457
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 25, 1981
DocketNo. 1485
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 435 A.2d 630 (Commonwealth ex rel. Wright v. Lacy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth ex rel. Wright v. Lacy, 435 A.2d 630, 291 Pa. Super. 185, 1981 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3457 (Pa. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

BROSKY, Judge:

On June 19, 1979, appellant was adjudged the father of appellee’s child. At that time, a hearing on support was continued until August of 1979. This appeal was filed before the support matter was heard, and, the appellee argues, as the trial court held, that the appeal is interlocutory. The trial court reached its decision based upon the analysis presented in our decision in Williams v. Williams, 253 Pa.Super. 444, 385 A.2d 422 (1978).

The standard by which we determine whether an appeal from a decision of a trial court is appealable is clear. The jurisdiction of the Superior Court is limited to appeals from common pleas court final orders, excepting where a statute provides otherwise. Williams, supra.

Appellant asserts that an immediate appeal should be heard in the instant case because of decisions of the Supreme Court recognizing parental rights, notably, Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1972). In Stanley, supra, the United States Supreme Court held:

The State of Illinois assumes custody of the children of married parents, divorced parents, and unmarried mothers only after a hearing and proof of neglect. The children of unmarried fathers, however, are declared dependent children without a hearing on parental fitness and without proof of neglect. Stanley’s claim in the state courts and here is that failure to afford him a hearing on his parental [187]*187qualifications while extending it to other parents denied him equal protection of the laws. We have concluded that all Illinois parents are constitutionally entitled to a hearing on their fitness before their children are removed from their custody. It follows that denying such a hearing to Stanley and those like him while granting it to other Illinois parents is inescapably contrary to the Equal Protection Clause, [footnote omitted]

Thus, it is clear in Stanley, supra., that denying a putative father the right to assert his rights is unconstitutional under the analysis presented in Stanley, supra. Our problem is somewhat different though we believe essentially very similar. Here, we review the denial of an alleged father’s right to appeal a determination of paternity incident to a support action, where no support order has issued, where the putative father denies paternity.

Previous decisions have held the jurisdiction in support actions is very strictly constrained. It is clear that we shall not resolve disputes presented in interlocutory appeals other than those which we are statutorily authorized to hear. However, it is no longer clear that there is no such statutory authorization in the instant case.

Appeals from support orders are statutorily authorized by 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6774 which states:

(a) By Department of Public Welfare.—If the Department of Public Welfare is of the opinion that a support order is erroneous, or inadequate, or presents a question of law warranting an appeal in the public interest, it may:
(1) Perfect an appeal to the proper appellate court if the support order was issued by a court of this Commonwealth; or
(2) If the support order was issued in another state, cause the appeal to be taken in the other state.
In either case expenses of appeal taken by such department may be paid from funds appropriated to the Department of Public Welfare.
(b) By obligee.—In the event the Department of Public Welfare fails or refuses to file an appeal on behalf of the [188]*188obligee, such obligee may file such appeal as provided in subsection (a)(1) and (2).
(c) By obligor.—The obligor shall have the right to file an appeal to the proper appellate court if the support order was issued by a court of this Commonwealth, or may cause the appeal to be taken in the other state, if the support order was issued in another state.[1]

It is, however, also true that a trial court maintains ongoing jurisdiction in support cases, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6710,2 and while that fact alone does not expand our jurisdiction, we hold it provides added strength to our position that one must accept jurisdiction. § 6710 states:

The court making the order shall at all times maintain jurisdiction of the cause for the purpose of enforcement of the order and for the purpose of increasing, decreasing, modifying or rescinding such order, without limiting the right of a complainant to institute additional proceedings for support in any county wherein the defendant resides or where his property is situated.

The court, therefore, continues to hold jurisdiction over the support case for an indefinite period of time. Obviously, we cannot hold that this continuous jurisdiction prevents any appeal. Certainly, one line drawn at which an appeal is permitted is found in Section 6774. We are not convinced, however, that Section 6774 provides the only means of appeal in a support action.

We have very recently discussed the rights of putative fathers in In re Mengel, 287 Pa.Super. 186 at 189-190, 429 A.2d 1162 at 1164-1165 (1981), who desired to assert his paternity by seeking a declaratory judgment, in which we said:

[189]*189The United States Supreme Court has held that an unwed father has a cognizable and substantial interest in obtaining custody of his children and that this interest is deserving of protection. Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1972). See: State ex rel. Rothstein v. Lutheran Social Services (Memorandum Opinion), 405 U.S. 1051, 92 S.Ct. 1488, 31 L.Ed.2d 786 (1972).
This court has recognized the rights of unwed fathers. In the case of Commonwealth ex rel. Peterson v. Hayes, 252 Pa.Super. 487, 381 A.2d 1311 (1977), we held that whether an unwed father should have visitation rights is to be decided by the same standard as is applied in the case of legitimate children.
We wrote:
In Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 652, 92 S.Ct. 1208 [1213], 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1972), it was held that the interest of a father in his illegitimate child was “cognizable and substantial.” Id. [252 Pa.Super.] at 492, 381 A.2d at 1314. ... It is only the father of an illegitimate child who has been relegated to a secondary position. To the extent that this secondary position depends on the traditional differentiation between the roles of a mother and a father it can no longer be accepted or enforced. Id., 252 Pa.Super. at 491, 381 A.2d at 1313.

In Adoption of Walker, 468 Pa. 165,

Related

Commonwealth v. Garcia
43 A.3d 470 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2012)
McCandless v. Freedman
700 A.2d 546 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)
S.A.C. v. S.B.
605 A.2d 832 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
DeWald v. Pauline
458 A.2d 1016 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)
Commonwealth Ex Rel. Nixon v. Nixon
458 A.2d 976 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
435 A.2d 630, 291 Pa. Super. 185, 1981 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3457, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-ex-rel-wright-v-lacy-pasuperct-1981.