Friday v. Miss. Dep't of Human Servs.

• Decision Date: 17 August 2021
• Docket Number: 2020-SA-00669-COA
• Parties: ANDREW FRIDAY APPELLANT v. MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES APPELLEE
• Court: Court of Appeals of Mississippi

ANDREW FRIDAY APPELLANT
v.
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES APPELLEE

No. 2020-SA-00669-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi

August 17, 2021

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 08/26/2020

HINDS COUNTY CHANCERY COURT, FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT HON. DENISE OWENS TRIAL JUDGE

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: KENYA REESE MARTIN

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: ALLYSON LEWIS BROCK JENNIFER ANN COLEMAN

BEFORE BARNES, C.J., McDONALD, McCARTY AND EMFINGER, JJ.

BARNES, C.J.

¶1. Andrew Friday appeals from the order of the Hinds County Chancery Court adjudging him as the natural father of "Sam Foster"^[1] and ordering him to pay one year of back child support. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. On September 24, 2017, the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) filed a "Complaint to Determine Paternity and for Other Relief" against Friday in the Hinds County Chancery Court. Over a year later, the chancery court dismissed the complaint without prejudice for lack of prosecution.

¶3. On August 30, 2019, the MDHS re-filed the action ("second complaint"), asserting that Friday was the putative father of Sam, who was twenty years old at the time of the filing. A form signed by Sam's mother was attached to the filing, which alleged that Friday was the natural father. Sam's birth certificate, however, did not list anyone as the father. Special Master William Singletary ordered genetic testing on December 10, 2019, but Friday never submitted a DNA sample.

¶4. Friday subsequently filed a motion for reimbursement of costs, fees, and expenses and made an ore tenus motion to dismiss, which Special Master Singletary denied on June 24, 2020. Friday appealed the ruling that same day. Chancellor Denise Owens dismissed the appeal and allowed the matter to proceed for a hearing. Friday filed a motion for reconsideration on June 25, 2020, arguing that the chancellor's dismissal of his appeal was a violation of his due process rights.

¶5. A hearing was held before Chancellor Owens on July 7, 2020. Noting Sam had recently turned twenty-one, Friday's attorney argued that Sam was emancipated and that the paternity suit was time-barred.^[2] Counsel for the MDHS contended that because Friday had not complied with the genetic testing ordered by the court, a rebuttable presumption of paternity existed. Chancellor Owens denied Friday's motion to reconsider but continued the proceedings in order to afford Friday another opportunity to provide a sample for genetic testing.

¶6. A second hearing was held on August 26, 2020. Friday's counsel informed the chancery court that his client was "unwilling to voluntarily...