Schneider v. Schneider

72 Misc. 2d 423, 339 N.Y.S.2d 52, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1488
CourtNew York City Family Court
DecidedOctober 6, 1972
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 72 Misc. 2d 423 (Schneider v. Schneider) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York City Family Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schneider v. Schneider, 72 Misc. 2d 423, 339 N.Y.S.2d 52, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1488 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1972).

Opinion

I. Leo Glasser, J.

The petitioner instituted a proceeding under the Uniform Support of Dependents Law (Domestic Eolations Law, art. 3-A) in which she alleges that she is the wife of the respondent, that he is the father of the four children named in the petition, and in which she seeks an order of support for [424]*424herself and her children. She is a resident of Niagara County and the respondent is a resident of' Kings County, New York.

Summoned to appear in the Family Court of Kings County, the respondent filed a verified answer to the petition in which he acknowledged his marriage to the petitioner hut avers that the marriage was procured by duress and he denies paternity of the children. In addition, the respondent requested an examination before trial pursuant to CPLR articles 4 and 31, and subdivision 9 of section 37 of the Domestic Relations Law, to be held at the Family Court of Niagara County, and the respondent also requested a blood grouping test. The Corporation Counsel of the City of New York appeared on behalf of the petitioner pursuant to subdivision 5 of section 37 of the Domestic Relations Law and opposed the respondent’s request for a blood grouping test upon the sole ground that there is no authority in the Uniform Support of Dependents Law (hereafter referred to as U.S.D.L.) for granting such request.

The avowed purpose of the U. S. D. L. is to compel support of dependent wives and children within- and without the State and to provide a procedure for enforcement of support against persons residing in other counties of the State or in other States and territories of the United States having substantially similar reciprocal laws. (Domestic Relations Law, §§ 30, 35; Landes v. Landes, 1 N Y 2d 358, 363 [1956].) The issue presented to the court is whether the provisions of article 3-A of the Domestic Relations Law and article 4 of the Family Court Act are mutually exclusive. Stated differently, may the more detailed provisions of the Family Court Act be resorted to where no provision governing the specific issue is to be found in the U. S. D. L.l

In “ Vincenza ” v. “ Vincenza ” (197 Misc. 1027, 1032 [Dom. Rel. Ct., N. Y. County, 1950]) the court said: The boundaries df the New York Uniform Support of Dependents Law cannot be enlarged by the implications of other statutes but are fixed by the four corners of chapter 807 of the Laws of 1949, as amended.” Matter of Bannheim v. Babbitt (48 Mise 2d 310 [Family Ct., Allegany County, 1965]) declined to interpolate section 438 of the Family Court Act in a U. S. D. L. proceeding and denied an application for counsel fees. That case may be deemed to be overruled by Matter of Murdock v; .Settembrim (21 N Y 2d 759 [1968]) in which the Court of Appeals affirmed the award of counsel fees by the Family Court whichi applied .section 438 of the Family Court Act in a proceeding under the U. S. D. L. which contains no provision for counsel fees. In Matter of Fleiseher v. Fleischer (25 A D 2d 901 [3d [425]*425Dept., 1966], mot. for Iv. to app. den. 18 N Y 2d 577 [1966]) and Matter of Lewis v. Lewis (55 Misc 2d 1092 [Family Ct., Queens County, 1967]) section 447 of the Family Court Act, relating to visitation, was .applied in a proceeding under the U. S. D. L. which makes no provision for orders of visitation.

The broad question has thus been raised before. In Martin v. Martin (58 Misc 2d 459 [Family Ct., Ulster County, 1968]), which declined to interpolate subdivision (c) of section 466 of the Family Court Act in a U. S. D. L. proceeding, the cases were comprehensively analyzed and in the course of his opinion, Judge Elwyh observed (p. 467) that the later decisions “ seem to point in the direction of fully interpolating article 4 of the Family Court Act into the Uniform Support of Dependents Law.” The specific question raised by the facts in this case has not, so far as this court’s research has revealed, been previously considered. The only case the court has found in which a blood grouping test was applied for and granted in a U. S. D. L. proceeding was Matter of Miller (114 N. Y. S. 2d 304 [Children’s Ct., Westchester County, 1952]) in which the respondent, a resident of Connecticut, personally appeared in the New York Court and his request for a blood grouping test was granted without discussion.

Were the parties to this proceeding residents of or domiciled in different States, perhaps the simple answer to the question of paternity raised by the respondent’s denial and to his request for a blood grouping test would be the response given in People ex rel. Johnson v. Johnson (35 Ill. App. 2d 106 [1962]). In that case a proceeding was instituted against a husband under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act for the support of a minor child. The husband respondent filed an answer stating that he had no knowledge sufficient to form a belief that he was the father of the child. The court held that his answer did not place upon the State the duty to substantiate, by proof, the charge in the complaint before an order could be entered for support. The court reasoned that the presumption of legitimacy arising from the fact that the child was born while the parties were married placed upon the husband the burden of going forward with evidence to make out a prima facie rebuttal.

That answer is a simple but a disquieting one for several reasons. Section 38-a of the Domestic Relations Law provides: ‘ ‘ In any hearing under this act [Domestic Relations Law, §§ 30 — 43] in either an initiating state court or a responding state court, there shall be applicable the same presumptions and [426]*426other rules of evidence, whether statutory, decisional, or under court rules, as are available to the parties in other civil proceedings or actions brought in that same court.” There are several statutes in New York which authorize an order for a blood grouping test. (Family Ct. Act, §§ 418, 532; CPLB. 3121.) The rule of evidence with regard to such tests which is recognized in this State is that the results of such test may be received in evidence where definite exclusion is established. (Family Ct. Act, § 532.) Such evidence of exclusion is conclusive and rebuts the presumption of legitimacy which would otherwise obtain. (Anonymous v. Anonymous, 1 A D 2d 312 [2d Dept., 1956].) That rule of evidence would be unavailable to the respondent if his request for a blood grouping test were rejected because the U. S. D. L. makes no provision for granting it. In a paternity suit, the respondent’s motion for a blood grouping test must be granted. (Family Ct. Act, § 532; People ex rel. Van Epps v. Doherty (261 App. Div. 86 [3d Dept., 1941].) In a support proceeding under article 4 of the-Family Court Act the granting of a motion by the respondent for a blood grouping test is discretionary. (Family Ct. Act, § 418; Matter of Time v. Time, 59 Mise 2d 912 [Family Ct., N. Y. County, 1969].) Before denying such a motion careful consideration should be given to the astute observation made in Beach v. Beach (114 F. 2d 479 [ C. A. D. C., 1940]). In that case a husband denied paternity in his wife’s suit for maintenance and requested a blood grouping test. In granting his request the court said (p. 482): “If the child is appellee’s, the tests will prove nothing and harm no one. If the child is not his, it would he unjust to prevent him from proving the fact.” (Emphasis added.X The U. S. D. L.

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Bluebook (online)
72 Misc. 2d 423, 339 N.Y.S.2d 52, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1488, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schneider-v-schneider-nycfamct-1972.