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No. 00-028 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

2000 MT 271N 

IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF 

LORI AITKEN, 

Petitioner and Respondent, 

and 

RAY W. AITKEN, 

Respondent and Appellant. 

APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Eighteenth Judicial District, 

In and for the County of Gallatin, 

Honorable Mike Salvagni, Judge Presiding

COUNSEL OF RECORD:

For Appellant:

Ray W. Aitken, Pro Se, Missoula, Montana

For Respondent:

J. Reuss, Wright, Tolliver and Guthals, Billings, Montana

Submitted on Briefs: June 8, 2000 

Decided: October 26, 2000

Filed:

__________________________________________

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Clerk

Chief Justice J. A. Turnage delivered the Opinion of the Court. 

¶1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c), Montana Supreme Court 1996 Internal Operating 

Rules, the following decision shall not be cited as precedent. It shall be filed as a public 

document with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and shall be reported by case title, 

Supreme Court cause number and result to the State Reporter Publishing Company and to 

West Group in the quarterly table of noncitable cases issued by this Court.

¶2 In dissolving the parties' marriage, the Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin 

County, determined that Ray W. Aitken was not the father of the minor child named in the 

dissolution action. From that ruling, Ray appeals.

¶3 Ray argues that the District Court erred in concluding that he was not the natural or 

adoptive father of the minor child. He cites the presumption that he was the child's father 

under § 40-6-105(1), MCA, because he was married to the child's mother, the child's birth 

certificate named him as the father, and he accepted the child into his home. The District 

Court found, however, that the statutory presumption of paternity was rebutted by the 

affidavit submitted by the child's mother, Lori Aitken. In that affidavit, Lori stated that the 

child had been born before she met Ray, that Ray is not the child's biological father, and 

that Ray's subsequent arrangement to have his name placed on the child's birth certificate 

occurred only after she had withdrawn her consent for him to do so. 

¶4 We review findings of fact to determine whether they are clearly erroneous and 

conclusions of law to determine whether they are correct. In re Marriage of Scott (1997), 

283 Mont. 169, 173, 939 P.2d 998, 1000. Having reviewed the record, we conclude that 

the above finding is not clearly erroneous, and the resulting legal conclusion is correct. 

¶5 Ray next asserts that the District Court erred in rejecting his arguments that Lori was 

barred by both collateral estoppel and equitable estoppel from raising the matters 

discussed in her affidavit. Ray claims that Lori has litigated these same issues in other 

courts, in relation to youth in need of care proceedings concerning the child. However, 

Ray has not established that any final judgment was ever issued in the prior proceedings, 

as would be necessary for the doctrine of collateral estoppel to apply. See Estate of Eide v. 

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Tabbert (1995), 272 Mont. 180, 184, 900 P.2d 292, 295. Further, as the District Court 

found, Ray has failed to demonstrate the first necessary element of equitable estoppel: 

conduct, acts, or language amounting to a representation or a concealment of a material 

fact. See In re Marriage of K.E.V. (1994), 267 Mont. 323, 331, 883 P.2d 1246, 1252. 

Specifically, since the child was undisputedly born before the parties knew each other, 

Ray cannot seriously contend that he was unaware that he was not the child's birth father. 

Further, Ray submitted no evidence suggesting that Lori told him that he was the child's 

birth father. We hold that the District Court was correct in concluding that Ray's collateral 

estoppel and equitable estoppel arguments were without merit. 

¶6 Finally, Ray asserts that the court "erred when it ignored the Gender Based 

Discrimination Between Spouses law." Ray's brief does not further identify the "Gender 

Based Discrimination Between Spouses law," instead referring only obliquely to equal 

justice and due process guarantees. It is not a court's obligation to conduct legal research 

on a party's behalf, guess at the party's precise position, or develop a legal analysis which 

may lend support to that position. See Johansen v. State, Dept. of Natural Resources, 1998 

MT 51, ¶ 24, 288 Mont. 39, ¶ 24, 955 P.2d 653, ¶ 24. We therefore decline to further 

address this argument. 

¶7 Affirmed. 

/S/ J. A. TURNAGE

We concur:

/S/ JIM REGNIER 

/S/ WILLIAM E. HUNT, SR.

/S/ W. WILLIAM LEAPHART

/S/ TERRY N. TRIEWEILER 

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