In re J.D.
| Decision Date | 30 November 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-18-0580, 1-18-0706, 1-18-0759 (cons.),1-18-0580, 1-18-0706, 1-18-0759 (cons.) |
| Citation | 428 Ill.Dec. 405,2018 IL App (1st) 180580,122 N.E.3d 414 |
| Parties | IN RE J.D., a Minor (The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner-Appellee; Jaime D., Respondent-Appellee; Viridiana M., Respondent-Appellant; and Alejandro A. and J.D., Appellants). |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
¶ 1 After an allegation of abuse by their father, Jaime D., five-year-old J.D. and his two sisters were placed in the temporary custody of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). During the proceeding, a DNA test showed Jaime was not J.D.'s father. J.D.'s mother testified that Alejandro A. was J.D.'s biological father. Based on Jaime having signed a voluntary acknowledgement of parentage (VAP), the trial court named Jaime as J.D.'s father. The trial judge stated, however, that if Alejandro appeared later and had standing, the court might reconsider the parentage finding. Eventually, the children returned to their mother.
¶ 2 Four years later, in 2017, the State again filed a petition for adjudication of wardship and temporary custody of the children after one of J.D.'s sisters alleged sexual abuse by her mother's boyfriend and the other sister alleged sexual abuse by Jaime, her father. Alejandro appeared and the trial court ordered him to take a DNA test, which established him as J.D.'s biological father. J.D., through the public guardian, filed a petition to allow Alejandro to remain a party and reserve his right to adjudicate Alejandro as his father. Alternatively, J.D. asked the trial court to adjudicate Alejandro as his legal parent.
¶ 3 After briefing and a hearing, the trial court denied J.D.'s request and entered another parentage order naming Jaime as J.D.'s father. The trial court held that the statute of limitations barred Alejandro, but not J.D., from seeking an adjudication of parentage. J.D., though, also could not proceed; res judicata , collateral estoppel, and the law of the case doctrine applied due to the public guardian's failure to object to the parentage finding in the 2013 proceeding. The court also denied J.D.'s request that Alejandro remain a party and dismissed him from the case.
¶ 4 J.D. argues (i) he is not barred by the doctrines of res judicata , collateral estoppel, or the law of the case from showing parentage in Alejandro; (ii) the statute of limitations does not bar his petition to establish parentage in Alejandro; and (iii) if we affirm the trial court's parentage order, Alejandro should be allowed to remain a party.
¶ 5 We reverse. While we agree the statute of limitations does not preclude J.D., we disagree that either res judicata or collateral estoppel applies. (The parties agree, as do we, that the law of the case doctrine does not apply.) Because we are reversing and remanding for further proceedings on J.D.'s petition, we need not address whether Alejandro should remain a party.
¶ 7 When Viridiana M. gave birth to J.D. her boyfriend, Jaime, signed a VAP. J.D.'s birth certificate also lists Jaime as his father.
¶ 8 J.D. first came into the system in April 2013, when the State filed a motion for temporary custody and a petition for adjudication of wardship for J.D. and his two older sisters. The State alleged Jaime hit one of J.D.'s sisters in the face with a coat hanger, causing lacerations and bruising. The trial court appointed the public guardian to represent the children.
¶ 9 At the initial hearing on the State's petition, Jaime appeared in court; Viridiana, living in Mexico, did not. Jaime testified he was the father of all three children. At the public guardian's request, the trial court ordered Jaime to take a parentage DNA test. The public guardian told the trial court that despite Jaime having taken on that role of father, family members knew Jaime was not J.D.'s father. The public guardian also informed the court that DCFS records included a 2009 DNA test that excluded Jaime as J.D.'s father but showed him as the biological father of J.D.'s sisters.
¶ 10 Jaime testified that a 2009 order required him to pay child support for all three children. The State informed the court that Jaime had been defaulted in the 2009 child support case and he was ordered to pay child support based on the VAP and J.D.'s birth certificate.
¶ 11 Viridiana appeared for the adjudicatory hearing. She testified that Alejandro took a home DNA test two years after J.D's birth, which showed he was J.D.'s biological father. According to Viridiana, she e-mailed Alejandro about the ongoing child protection case and the court date and asked him to attend. She claimed Alejandro said he was scared to come to court. The trial court asked the caseworker to try to locate Alejandro so he could be notified of the proceedings. The court then stated "if there's some reason to believe that [Alejandro] would have standing before this Court, I would be glad to entertain even his participating in the proceedings, and if necessary, re-adjudicate proceedings * * * but * * * at this time, it's not in the best interests of these three minors * * * to delay adjudication pending what at this point is speculation that [Alejandro] would come to court."
¶ 12 By stipulation, including that Jaime was J.D.'s father, the trial court found neglect due to injurious environment of J.D. and his sisters and removed them from the home. Eventually, the children returned to Viridiana's care.
¶ 13 J.D., his sisters, and a new younger brother came to DCFS's attention in January 2017. One of J.D.'s sisters alleged Viridiana's boyfriend sexually abused her. DCFS placed the children with Jaime, but in November 2017, J.D.'s other sister alleged Jaime sexually abused her. The State filed a petition for adjudication of wardship and a motion for temporary custody of the children. The trial court appointed the public guardian to represent the children.
¶ 14 At the temporary custody hearing, Viridiana testified that Alejandro was J.D.'s biological father. She acknowledged that Jaime attended J.D.'s birth, signed a VAP, and had been responsible for J.D.'s child support in 2009. But, she said, J.D. knew Jaime was not his father and that Alejandro had visits with J.D. in 2011.
¶ 15 Next, the parties appeared before a different judge. After the parties informed the trial judge of the DNA test results, of Viridiana's contention that Alejandro was J.D.'s father, and of the order finding Jaime the father, both Jaime and Alejandro were required to submit to DNA parentage testing.
¶ 16 Later that month, the State admitted the results: Alejandro's DNA test showed a 99.99 percent probability of fatherhood. The State objected to Alejandro's DNA test's admission, arguing that the order in the 2013 proceeding named Jaime the father. The court then proceeded with a stipulation as to the children's temporary custody and placed them in DCFS custody. Alejandro's attorney sought placing J.D. with Alejandro.
¶ 17 Jaime filed a motion to deny a paternity in Alejandro's favor based on the 2013 paternity finding. The state's attorney also filed a motion to declare Jaime as J.D.'s legal father. J.D. filed a petition to allow Alejandro to retain party status and to reserve his right to adjudicate parentage in Alejandro or, alternatively, to adjudicate Alejandro as his legal guardian.
¶ 18 The State argued that Alejandro, Viridiana, and J.D. were procedurally barred from challenging the court's 2013 paternity finding and Jaime must remain as J.D.'s legal father. The State asserted Alejandro failed to file an action to declare the nonexistence of a parent-child relationshipwithin two years of learning he was J.D.'s biological father, as required by the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 (Parentage Act) ( 750 ILCS 46/609(b) (West 2016) ). Further, Alejandro knew about the 2013 child protection proceedings and failed to seek relief within the one-year limit imposed by the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Juvenile Court Act) ( 705 ILCS 405/2-32 (West 2016) ) and the two-year limit imposed by the Code of Civil Procedure ( 735 ILCS 5/2-1401(c) (West 2016) ). The State also argued J.D. and Viridiana failed to challenge the 2013 paternity finding within the statutorily required times, precluding them under principles of res judicata and collateral estoppel.
¶ 19 The public guardian countered that J.D. could petition to establish parentage in Alejandro because the 2013 proceeding did not formally or finally resolve the parentage issue. The trial court had merely taken judicial notice of Jaime's VAP in 2013, and the Parentage Act prohibits courts from ratifying a VAP. So no final order had been entered precluding J.D.'s ability to establish parentage in Alejandro. Moreover, equity requires that J.D. be able to challenge the VAP and establish parentage in Alejandro, given Alejandro was not a party to the 2013 proceeding, and J.D. did not know Alejandro was his biological father until the court-ordered 2017 paternity test. Alternatively, the public guardian asked that J.D. be allowed to request a paternity finding in Alejandro at a later date, after J.D. had therapy, which would help in resolving the issue of paternity in his best interests, and Alejandro remain a party regardless of his legal paternity status.
¶ 20 Alejandro argued the trial court should enter an order naming him as J.D.'s legal father. He asserted the Parentage Act did not bar him from challenging the nonexistence of a parent-child relationship between Jaime and J.D. because Viridiana "fraudulently concealed" his having fathered J.D. by telling Alejandro she got an abortion. Besides, he had no knowledge of the 2013 case.
¶ 21 The trial court recognized Jaime as J.D.'s father and rejected the public guardian's suggestion to apply a best interest standard to its paternity finding, noting the supreme court rejected that standard for a...
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