In the Interest of Carter v. Williams

750 So. 2d 1153, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 1526, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 3789, 1999 WL 1411318
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 29, 1999
DocketNo. 98-CA-1526
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 750 So. 2d 1153 (In the Interest of Carter v. Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Interest of Carter v. Williams, 750 So. 2d 1153, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 1526, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 3789, 1999 WL 1411318 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

| ¶ MURRAY, Judge.

Cadette Carter, and her minor daughter, Cherise, each have appealed the judgment of the trial court granting the petition of Maurice Williams, Cherise’s alleged biological father, to annul a consent judgment of March 14, 1990, and disavowal of paternity. Maurice Williams answered the appeal requesting that, in addition to the reasons stated for the judgment by the trial court, the consent judgment should be annulled on the basis of fraud.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY:

Cadette Carter gave birth to Cherise on April 19, 1989. It is undisputed that Cadette, who was married to Herbert Sonny Carter when Cherise was conceived, engaged in sexual relations with Maurice Williams. Herbert Carter was identified as Cherise’s father on the child’s birth certificate.1

On September 13, 1989, Ms. Carter filed a Petition for Child Custody and Support alleging that Mr. Williams, who had informally acknowledged Cherise, was the child’s natural and biological father. This petition, however, did not seek Lto have paternity established. The record does not indicate that Mr. Williams answered the petition.

[1155]*1155Eventually, Mr. Williams and Ms. Carter agreed that Ms. Carter would be designated as the primary custodial parent, with permanent, sole custody of Cherise, subject to Mr. Williams’ right, as the child’s “natural and biological father,” to reasonable visitation. Mr. Williams agreed to pay Ms. Carter, on behalf of Cherise, $300.00 on January 19, 1990, and $150.00 on the first and fifteenth of each month thereafter, and to maintain medical insurance for Cherise through his employer. Ms. Carter agreed that no arrearages for child support would be paid.

A consent judgment in accordance with that agreement, prepared by counsel for Ms. Carter, was signed by Cadette Carter and Maurice Williams. A note beneath Mr. Williams’ signature advises that “As of today Feb. 16 I representing [sic] myself.” 2 The trial court signed the consent judgment in chambers on March 14, 1990.

On March 23, 1990 Ms. Carter filed a motion to accumulate past due child support, for contempt, attorneys fees and an increase in child support to $412.00 per month. A rule to show cause on that motion was scheduled for April 23, but continued several times. Ultimately, an amended consent judgment was signed on | ¡¡October 24, 1990. By agreement of the parties, Mr. Williams was ordered to pay an additional $85.00 per month to Ms. Carter for medical insurance until January 1991, at which time he would place “his daughter” on his medical policy with his employer and be permitted to discontinue this additional payment.

Over the years numerous rules were filed seeking to change the support obligation. Ms. Carter sought to increase and Mr. Williams sought to reduce the amount of child support. By judgment of June 11, 1991, the child support Mr. Williams was to pay was increased to $605.25 per month. On December 30, 1992, Mr. Williams was adjudged in contempt of court and ordered to pay $600.00 in past due child support plus attorneys fees of $300.00. On March 24, 1993, a consent judgment was signed increasing the child support to be paid by Mr. Williams to $625.00 per month, retroactive to October 1992.3

On December 8, 1993, after having paid support for Cherise Carter for approximately three years, Mr. Williams filed a “Rule for Paternity Blood Testing,” petitioning the court to order that Ms. Carter and Cherise submit to blood tests to determine paternity in accordance with La.Rev. Stat. 9:396, et seq. Ms. Carter filed an exception of no cause of action on the grounds that Mr. Williams had acknowledged Cherise and entered into a consent judgment agreeing to pay support for her benefit. According to notations on one copy of that rule in the record, the matter was continued at least twice, and “submitted on memos” as of 14April 26, 1994. On October 20, 1994, the exception of no cause of action was overruled and the rule for paternity testing granted.

Specimens were obtained and the testing was performed. A report dated December 13, 1994, issued by the Associate Director of the Department of Paternity Evaluation of Roche Biomedical Laboratories in Burlington, North Carolina, advised that DNA analysis of specimens taken from Cherise and Cadette Carter and Maurice Williams excluded Maurice Williams as Cherise Carter’s biological father. Based on the analysis, the report concluded that Mr. Williams “cannot be [1156]*1156the biological father of the child, Cherise Carter.”

On January 23, 1995, because the blood tests had determined that he was not Cherise’s biological father, Mr. Williams filed a Petition to Annul the consent judgment of support of March 14, 1990, as well as the judgment that increased the support award to $625.00. The petition also prayed that Ms. Carter and her attorney be sanctioned because these judgments had been obtained through fraud or ill practice, “having been procured by the prejudiced [sic] testimony of Cadette Carter as stated in her petition for child support.”

On January 27, 1995, Ms. Carter filed a motion asking the court to order a second set of blood tests. Ms. Carter alleged that she was concerned about the validity of the original blood tests because of statements made to her by Mr. Williams. Also, because she had “maintained an exclusive sexual relationship” with Mr. Williams, the test reports excluding him as Cherise’s father also caused her to question the validity of the testing. On February 25, 1995, over Mr. | ¡Williams’ objection that additional testing would only prolong this litigation, the court granted Ms. Carter’s motion, ordering that she pay for the second blood testing. The court also ordered that the additional testing be completed as expeditiously as possible.

On April 24, 1995, Mr. Williams filed a pleading styled “Petition to Annul Three Prior Judgments” in which he once again asked that the two previous support judgments be declared null. He also requested that the judgment ordering the second set of blood tests be vacated and set aside because almost two months had expired since the testing was ordered, and Ms. Carter had neither scheduled the additional testing nor tendered payment for same. The rule on this motion, originally set for May 9, 1995, was continued due to the illness of Ms. Carter’s attorney.

After a hearing on June 16, the trial court ordered that Mr. Williams, Ms. Carter and Cherise make themselves available for a second series of blood testing at a reputable laboratory in the New Orleans area. The testing was to be completed, at Ms. Carter’s expense, within thirty days of the hearing; if the testing was not completed within this time, the judgment ordering additional testing would be set aside, and the prior test results would govern further proceedings. Finally, the court ordered that a hearing to establish Cherise’s paternity be held within fifteen days of the receipt of the results of the additional testing by either party.

The court directed Mr. Williams’ attorney to prepare a judgment in accordance with the decision rendered in open court on June 16. On June 27, 1995, this attorney forwarded to Ms. Carter’s attorney a copy of the judgment he j Jiad prepared for approval. The record contains a letter from Mr. Williams’ attorney to the court, dated July 24, 1995, in which he advised that Ms.

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750 So. 2d 1153, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 1526, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 3789, 1999 WL 1411318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-carter-v-williams-lactapp-1999.