Jones v. Trojak

• Decision Date: 28 February 1994
• Citation: 535 Pa. 95,634 A.2d 201
• Parties: Kathryn JONES, Appellee, v. Joseph TROJAK, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 201

634 A.2d 201

535 Pa. 95

Kathryn JONES, Appellee, v. Joseph TROJAK, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted April 7, 1992.

Decided Nov. 23, 1993.

Reargument Denied Feb. 28, 1994.

[535 Pa. 97] Ronald Ervais, Mary Jane Deaves Hopkins, Philadelphia, for appellant.

Paul R. Beckert, Doylestown, for appellee.

Before NIX, C.J., and FLAHERTY, ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS, CAPPY and MONTEMURO, JJ.

OPINION

NIX, Chief Justice.

Appellant, Joseph Trojak ("Trojak"), appeals from the Order of the Superior Court affirming the Order of the Court of Common Pleas that blood tests had been properly ordered and reversing the determination of paternity. This case presents two issues for our review. The first is whether an order by a trial judge that parties to a paternity suit submit to a blood test is appealable. ¹ The second issue is whether blood tests were properly ordered. Our determination of that depends on whether Appellee, Kathryn Jones ("Jones"), overcame the presumption that her child is the child of her former husband with whom Jones lived at the time of conception and birth.

The factual circumstances of this case are as follows: On January 20, 1988, Jones filed a paternity suit against Trojak, alleging that he was the biological father of Katie Jones ("Katie"), who was born October 30, 1987. At the time of the child's birth, Jones was still married to and living with William Jones. The trial court ordered all of the parties involved to undergo blood tests to determine paternity. Trojak objected, contending that Jones failed to rebut the presumption of her ex-husband's paternity and, therefore, blood tests were unnecessary. The trial court overruled the objection, and the blood tests were administered. The results from the blood tests indicated that William Jones could not be the father and that Trojak shared genetic markers with Katie which gave rise to a 99.9% probability that he is the biological father. On October 26, 1988, the trial court found Trojak to be the biological father of Katie. An appeal was filed, but was discontinued after the trial court granted a new trial.

During the second trial, Trojak raised an objection to the use of the results from the blood tests from the first trial. Trojak argued that the results from the blood tests from the first trial could not be used because the disposition of the first trial was vacated and a new trial was ordered. Record at 16A. However, on June 19, 1989, the trial court entered an Order that the blood tests taken at the first trial would be considered in determining paternity at the second trial. Trojak filed an interlocutory appeal to the Superior Court, and Jones filed a motion to quash. The motion to quash was denied. Subsequently, on January 11, 1990, while the appeal was pending before the Superior Court, the trial court filed an Opinion and Order finding that Trojak was the child's natural father. The Superior Court reversed the trial court's June 19, 1989 Order and remanded the matter to the trial court. We granted Trojak's request for review.

Prior to reaching the substantive issue raised herein, we will address the procedural question of whether Trojak's appeal of the trial court's June 19, 1989 Order is an appealable order. The question presented is whether a court order requiring blood testing is entitled to interlocutory review. This Court has not determined whether a court order requiring blood testing is appealable, and we find that these circumstances present us with the opportunity to speak on this issue.

Although we have not addressed the issue, the Superior Court recently did so in Christianson v. Ely, 390 Pa.Super. 398, 568 A.2d 961 (1990). In arriving at its decision, the Superior Court acknowledged that a matter is not appropriate for appellate review where there has not been a finding as to the issue of paternity. Moreover, an appeal from an order to draw blood from a putative father is generally not appealable. Id. at 401, 568 A.2d at 962. However, in Christianson, the Court reasoned that, because of the circumstances of that case, ² the appeal was allowed under the authority of Myers v. Travelers Ins. Co., 353 Pa. 523, 46 A.2d 224 (1946). ³ The Superior Court granted the appeal from an order requiring the putative father to submit to a blood test based on this Commonwealth's long-standing doctrine of estoppel. ⁴ The Superior Court held that, "[w]hen an Order appealed from involves a blood test and the issue presented focuses on whether or not the doctrine of estoppel must be applied to the denial of paternity by a presumptive parent which will control whether or not an Order to submit to blood tests will issue, [we have] treated the Order as appealable." Christianson, 390 Pa.Super. at 402, 568 A.2d at 962.

For the purpose of resolving this issue, we find it helpful to look to courts in other jurisdictions for insight. In some jurisdictions, an order for a blood test is interlocutory and, thus, non-appealable, ⁵ while other courts have held that, although interlocutory, it was appealable because of the nature of the order. ⁶

We hold that court ordered blood tests to determine paternity are appealable, even though they are interlocutory. Our holding is necessitated by this Court's concern for the best interests of the child. See In re Change of Name of Zachary Thomas Andrew Grimes to Zachary Thomas Andrew Grimes-Palaia, 530 Pa. 388, 609 A.2d 158 (1992); McMillen v. McMillen, 529 Pa. 198, 602 A.2d 845 (1992). The best interests of the child standard has also inspired decisions in other jurisdictions. In those jurisdictions, the primary concern is that because blood tests, for the purposes of determining paternity, may potentially have a negative impact on the mental, moral and spiritual well-being of the child and the family unit, it is in the best interest of all parties that court ordered blood tests, for the purpose of determining paternity, be appealable. See, e.g., Marriage of Ross, 245 Kan. 591, 783 P.2d 331 (1989); McDaniels v. Carlson, 108 Wash.2d 299, 738 P.2d 254 (1987).

The Washington Supreme Court in McDaniels was confronted with a case that involved a paternity action where the plaintiff claimed that he, and not the presumptive father, was the natural father of the child born to the mother. One of the two issues raised by the parties was, "what role does public policy and the best interests of the child play in the allowance of paternity actions sought under the Uniform Parentage Act...." 108 Wash.2d at 303, 738 P.2d at 257. The Washington Supreme Court acknowledged that:

[a] paternity suit, by its very nature, threatens the stability of the child's world.... It may be true that a child's interests are generally served by accurate, as opposed to inaccurate or stipulated paternity determinations.... However, it is possible that in some circumstances a child's interests will be even better served by no paternity determination at all....

Id. at 310, 738 P.2d at 261. The Washington Supreme Court held that "[t]he mere filing of a paternity action does not automatically imply that the action is in the child's best interest." Id. at 313, 738 P.2d at 262. The Washington Supreme Court went on to say "that [a] court must reach this conclusion independently based on the facts in the record...." The Washington Supreme Court held that, upon consideration of the facts of that case, the paternity action would be permitted because it was in the child's best interest to have her biological father identified. Id. at 313, 738 P.2d at 262.

Similarly, the Kansas Supreme Court recognized that, because of the potential for irreparable emotional and physical harm, the best interests of the child must be considered prior to ordering blood tests. The Kansas Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Kansas Court of Appeals which held that an evidentiary hearing on the best interests of the child need not preclude a paternity determination. Marriage of Ross, 245 Kan. 591, 783 P.2d 331 (1989). The Kansas Supreme Court concluded it was error to fail to weigh the best interests of the child prior to permitting the paternity action to proceed because "[o]nce the judge, in the interest of judicial economy, ruptures the father/child relationship, the judge cannot return the parties to the position they were in prior to the blood tests, no matter how wise or great his or her judicial power." Id. at 601, 783 P.2d at 338. The Kansas Supreme Court, in concluding that the lower court erred by failing to weigh the best interests of the child prior to permitting the paternity action to proceed, stated:

Prior to ordering a blood test to determine whether the presumed parent is the biological parent, the District Court must consider the best interests of the child, including physical, mental, and emotional needs. The shifting of paternity from the presumed father to the biological father could easily be detrimental to the emotional and physical well-being of any child.

Id. at 602, 783 P.2d at 338. The Court relied on McDaniels, and held that, "the mere filing of a paternity action does not automatically imply that the action is in the child's best interests." Id.

We find the decisions of both the Washington and Kansas Supreme Courts instructive. Permitting these types of blood tests to be appealable, notwithstanding their interlocutory nature, provides appellate courts the opportunity to insure that trial courts have properly scrutinized the facts and determined that blood tests would be in the child's best interests. Our concern is that once a party to a paternity action submits to a blood test, the psychological and moral damage will have been done, the family unit will have been intruded upon, and, most importantly, the child will have been scarred from the mental stress and the social stigma associated with having the identity of his or her parents investigated. Restated, this Court's concern is that the potential negative...