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In the News

Monday, November 22, 2004

Paternity Fraud Victims Finally Rescued

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Paternity Fraud Victims Finally Rescued
Press Release from California Alliance for Families & Children

Sacramento, CA (CAFC) California Alliance for Families & Children, November 22, 2004 - California families and tax payers have scored two major victories in the battle against paternity fraud -- a crime committed when a man is fraudulently identified as the father of a child, and is then forced to give up a percentage of his income for child support. The Supreme Court of California on November 10, 2004 refused to depublish the landmark decision by the 2nd District Court of Appeals, Los Angeles County vs. Navarro, holding that men wrongfully identified as the fathers of children cannot be forced to pay child support. Child Support Enforcement aggressively fought to have the ruling depublished.

Linda Ferrer, attorney for Manuel Navarro the defendant in the case, and Michael Robinson of CAFC (www.cafcusa.org) worked diligently to build support to oppose depublishing. The Supreme Court of California had previously depublished similar lower court rulings. Some of the opposition letters that Robinson achieved support from included Legislative members and the County of Los Angeles Public Defender's office. The Public Defender's office has been representing Defendants in these cases at tax payer expense.

Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 252, a bill that is now strengthened by the Navarro decision. Some mothers falsely identify men as the fathers of their children in order to collect high child support benefits. In cases where the actual father has a low income, some mothers may decide to falsely identify other, wealthier men they sleep with as the father. Often the new "dad" doesn't find out that he has been duped -- and is now liable for child support -- until long after the statute of limitations for contesting paternity has expired.

Paternity fraud has cost men and tax payers millions in illegitimate child support sanctions across the country, has ripped apart families and destroyed lives. AB 252 and Navarro now promises to provide relief to these men, some whose current family and children have been seriously hurt financially as a result of mothers who commit this fraud.

Both the bill and the Navarro court decision are major victories for fathers, families and tax payers in California.

In the Navarro case, Los Angeles County, which knew it had wrongfully identified Manuel Navarro was not the father of a 2 boys because of DNA testing, still attempted to collect child support payments from him. Because of an apparent administrative error, he had earlier been misidentified as the father. A Los Angeles County magistrate had ordered that Navarro still needed to pay support, despite the DNA evidence proving he was not the father.

But the Second District Court of Appeal overturned the ruling, and in a blistering decision, rebuked child support officials from pursuing a claim against someone that was known not to be the biological father.

"It is this state's policy that when a mistake occurs in a child support action, the County must correct it, not exploit it," the ruling states. "The County, a political embodiment of its citizens and inhabitants, must always act in the public interest and for the general good. It should not enforce child support judgments it knows to be unfounded. And in particular, it should not ask the courts to assist it in doing so."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Michael Robinson
http://www.cafcusa.org/

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Sunday, November 14, 2004

Wave of celebrity palimony suits indicative of greed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wave of celebrity palimony suits indicative of greed
Press Release from California Alliance for Families & Children (CAFC)

Sacramento, CA (CAFC) November 14, 2004 - CAFC is appalled by how easily men can be robbed of their possessions by women with whom they share no marital agreement, often based solely on alleged oral agreements that would not be enforceable in other areas of law.

Comedian Bill Maher was hit with a palimony suit on November 10, 2004. An ex-girlfriend is demanding a $9 million payment for alleged verbal and physical abuse. The plaintiff, Nancy Johnson, is a former centerfold model. Johnson, who dated Maher for just 17 months, claims that the comedian reneged on a promise to buy her a Beverly Hills home, and to marry her and have children.

Meanwhile, an ex-girlfriend of Burt Reynolds is suing the Hollywood actor, alleging that he, too, agreed to maintain what is presumably an exorbitant lifestyle of the woman, and to give her half his estate. When Reynolds balked, Pamela Seals threatened to levy false abuse allegations, which Reinhold's attorneys deem "blackmail."

Michael Robinson, spokesperson of the California advocacy group CAFC, commented that the women's lawsuits are another clear indication that the legal system is being used by "gold diggers" to extort money from vulnerable men. These men, along with the California tax payers, are suffering. Thousands are being spent by the California tax payers to pay for the court time that palimony cases take up."

"It's absurd that, even without marrying these men, these women may walk away with millions. Absurd, but not surprising, given the way the California legal system is stacked against men. In California palimony can be set based on oral agreements. California's courts can make a finding of fact that an oral agreement existed - based solely on finding the female more "believable" - even if no such oral agreement had ever been made. ("Oral promise to support for rest of life is enforceable" Byrne v. Laura (1997) 52 Cal.App.4th 1054.)

The website http://www.palimony.com/ provides caselaw before and after the Marvin decision, which should be reviewed by all men who are sharing a residence with an unmarried woman.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Michael Robinson
http://www.cafcusa.org/

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