In Re Paternity of BJH

573 N.W.2d 99, 1998 WL 7427
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJanuary 13, 1998
DocketC6-97-920
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 573 N.W.2d 99 (In Re Paternity of BJH) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Paternity of BJH, 573 N.W.2d 99, 1998 WL 7427 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

573 N.W.2d 99 (1998)

In re the PATERNITY OF B.J.H., Child.
A.J.S., Respondent,
v.
M.T.H., et al., Appellants.

No. C6-97-920.

Court of Appeals of Minnesota.

January 13, 1998.

*100 Paula Smoot Ogg, Golden Valley, for appellants.

Christopher Brevik, Brooklyn Center, for respondent.

Lorraine S. Clugg, Edina, for guardian ad litem.

Considered and decided by HUSPENI, P.J., and KLAPHAKE and HARTEN, JJ.

OPINION

KLAPHAKE, Judge.

Almost two years after appellants, husband and wife, were married, wife gave birth. Respondent sued to establish his paternity of the child, citing Minn.Stat. § 257.55(f) (1996), which states that a person whose paternity index equals or exceeds 99 percent is presumptively a child's father. Appellants sought to have the husband adjudicated the child's father under an analysis of the best interest factors listed in Minn.Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a) (1996) and Minn.Stat. § 257.55, subd. 1(a) (1996), which state that a woman's husband is presumptively the father of her child. Husband and wife appeal the district court's adjudication that respondent is the child's father. We affirm because (1) the district court properly resolved the conflict *101 between the paternity presumptions based on considerations in addition to the best interest factors listed in Minn.Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a); (2) the district court's resolution of conflicting paternity presumptions is supported by the facts, policy, and logic; and (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in addressing discovery or evidentiary issues.

FACTS

Almost a year after appellants were married, wife began a romantic relationship with respondent. Over a year after that, and while still married to husband, wife gave birth to a child. Two months after the child was born, husband learned that blood tests showed a paternity index exceeding 99 percent for respondent. Respondent informed his family that the child was his, and he and his family had contact with wife and the child. Husband, however, accepted and cared for the child as if it were his own.

For reasons that are disputed, the relationship between wife and respondent deteriorated. Wife terminated contact with respondent, refusing to allow him to see her or the child. Shortly thereafter, respondent sued to establish his paternity, citing the blood test results and Minn.Stat. § 257.55, subd. 1(f), which states that a man whose paternity index equals or exceeds 99 percent is presumptively a child's father. Appellants sought to have husband adjudicated the child's father based on an analysis of the "best interests" factors listed in Minn.Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a), and based on Minn.Stat. § 257.55, subd. 1(a), which state that the husband of a woman who conceives or gives birth to a child is presumptively the child's father. The district court appointed a guardian ad litem for the child.

The proceedings were acrimonious and involved disputes about, among other things, appellants' access to respondent's financial information and medical history. The guardian ad litem recommended that respondent be adjudicated the child's father.

The district court, based on the best interests factors listed in Minn.Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a), and other considerations, adjudicated respondent the child's father, awarded wife sole legal and physical custody, ordered the parties to cooperate regarding visitation, and directed respondent to produce financial information for support purposes. The district court denied appellants' posttrial motions and granted respondent's motion for enforcement of a six-month visitation schedule recommended by the guardian ad litem. Later, the district court amended its prior order to state that the paternity portion of the proceeding had been bifurcated and included a ruling under Minn. R. Civ. P. 54.02 allowing appeal of the paternity ruling. The court denied appellants' request to stay visitation pending appeal.

ISSUES

I. In adjudicating paternity, did the district court err by preferring respondent to husband because he is the child's biological father?

II. In adjudicating paternity, did the district court err by considering factors in addition to those listed in Minn.Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a), in addressing the conflicting paternity presumptions?

III. On these facts, is adjudicating respondent the child's father supported by policy and logic?

IV. Did the district court abuse its discretion in determining the evidentiary and discovery issues?

ANALYSIS

Under Minnesota's version of the Uniform Parentage Act, both husband and respondent are presumed to be the child's father. See Minn.Stat. § 257.55, subd. 1(a) (stating child born or conceived during marriage is presumptively child of mother's husband); Id., subd. 1(f) (stating man with paternity index equaling or exceeding 99 percent is presumptively child's father).

I.

Claiming the proper standard for resolving conflicting paternity presumptions is the child's "best interests," appellants argue the district court erred by preferring respondent to husband based on biology, rather than emphasizing the stability-for-the-child *102 concept underlying the best interest criteria of Minn.Stat. § 518.17. See In re Welfare of C.M.G., 516 N.W.2d 555, 560 (Minn.App. 1994) ("[w]here competing presumptions of paternity exist, the determination of paternity is no longer solely an issue of biological fact"); see also Minn.Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a) (listing factors to be considered in addressing child's best interests); McCabe v. McCabe, 430 N.W.2d 870, 872 (Minn.App. 1988) (recognizing that importance of child's emotional and psychological stability underlies factors listed in Minn.Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a)). Because the district court denied preferring respondent to husband based on biology alone, appellants' claim is not viable unless we assume the district court erred by misrepresenting the basis for its decision. We cannot assume district court error. Loth v. Loth, 227 Minn. 387, 392, 35 N.W.2d 542, 546 (1949). Further, the district court's findings reflect that in rendering its paternity decision, it considered many factors in addition to biology, including the child's best interests.

II.

Appellants, citing C.M.G., allege that under the best interests factors listed in Minn. Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1, and the stability-for-the-child concept underlying those factors, husband should have been adjudicated the child's father. But C.M.G. does not mention Minn.Stat. § 518.17. Nor does the parentage statute direct use of the best interests factors of Minn.Stat. § 518.17 to resolve conflicting paternity presumptions. If paternity presumptions conflict, the presumption controls which, "on the facts is founded on the weightier considerations of policy and logic." Minn. Stat. § 257.55, subd. 2 (1996). Consistent with this broad-based method of resolving conflicting paternity presumptions, case law indicates a child's best interests are part of the analysis for resolving conflicting paternity presumptions. See C.M.G., 516 N.W.2d at 560 (stating "a child's best interests is a valid policy factor

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

Related

Marriage of Kremer v. Kremer
827 N.W.2d 454 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2013)
In Re the Welfare of the Children of J.B.
698 N.W.2d 160 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2005)
Dorman v. Steffen
666 N.W.2d 409 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2003)
State v. Jones
647 N.W.2d 540 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2002)
Marriage of Matson v. Matson
638 N.W.2d 462 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2002)
State Ex Rel. Cihlar v. Crawford
39 S.W.3d 172 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2000)
Vangsness v. Vangsness
607 N.W.2d 468 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2000)
In Re the Welfare of M.J.L.
582 N.W.2d 585 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
573 N.W.2d 99, 1998 WL 7427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-paternity-of-bjh-minnctapp-1998.