### IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE Submi tted on Bri efs, Jan

uary 3 , 2003 KENNETH HINTON v. THE E STATE OF JOHN D. KNOWLES, J R.

Direct Appeal from the Chancery Court for Ham ilton County No. 01-1154 Hon. W. Frank Brown, Chancellor

FILED FEBRUARY 26, 2003 No. E2002-02493-COA-R3-CV

Estate a ppealed Trial Cour

t’s Judgme

nt that pla intiff wa s the son of

decede nt. We aff

irm. Tenn. R. App.P.3 Appe al as of Right ; Judgme nt of the Cha

ncery Court Affirm

ed. H ERSCHEL P ICKENS F RANKS , J., deliver ed the opinion of the

court, in which C HARLES D. S USANO , J R ., J., and D. M ICHAEL S WINEY , J., joined. Walter E. Grantha

m, II , Chattano oga, Te

nnessee , for App ellant. Kevin B. Wilson, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appe llee.

OPINION

In this action to establish paternity, the Trial Court dec lared the deceased, John D. Knowles, Jr., to be the biological father of the plaintiff, Kenneth Hinton. The e state has appealed.

The only issue

on appeal is “whether the

appellee established by

clear and convincing proof” that the decedent, John D. Knowles, Jr., was plaintiff’s biological fathe r. The evidenc e on appe al is pres ente d to the Court by a narr ative statement of the evidence, which established the decedent lived i n the same Chattanoo ga comm

unity from a da

te prior to plaintif

f’s birth on Augu st

6, 1963 until decedent’s death on December 29, 2000. The Trial Court filed a detailed memorandum and we quote:

In 1966 Ms. Hinton [plaintiff’s mother] signed an Affidavit of Support and as a Dependant. This affidavit was completed so that Mr. Knowl es could

claim Mr. Hinton as a dependant on his federal income tax form. In tha t affida vit Ms. Hinton-2- claimed that Mr. Knowles was Mr. Hinton’s father. The affida vit acknowledges that Mr. Knowles p aid

child support of $28.00 per month. That affida vit was at tached t o a docu ment p repare d by Atto rney Benjam in Z. Tabb in which Mr. Knowles sought to establish

his depen dants. Mr . Hinton is c laimed asa child. T his document helped Mr. Knowles. . . . Ms. Hinton also testified at a deposition and the hearing reg arding this matter. She said that Mr. Knowles was Mr. Hinton’s biological father. She also testified that Mr. Knowles spent time with Mr. Hinton. According to Ms. Hinton, Mr. Knowles paid child support of $7.50 per week for Mr. Hinton until Mr. Hinton was 16 or 17 yea rs old. Mr. Hinton’s birth certificate is also before the court. While Richard Hinton is listed as Mr. Hinton’s father on his birth c ertific ate, Mr. Hinton’s f ull name is given a s “Kennet h Nowles Hinton.” Ms. Hinton testified that the “K” was mistakenl y left off “Knowles”. She also testified that at some point an attempt was made to lega

lly change Mr. Hinton’s birth certificate. A pparently the

change was not properly c ompleted. Mr. Hinton tes tified at

the hear ing. He said that Mr. Knowles acknowledged him as his son. Mr. Knowles would buy Mr. Hinton nec essities and also bought Mr. Hinton’s first car. At the hearing a loan doc ument was also presented as evidence that Mr. Knowles acknowledged Mr. Hinton as his son. . . . Mr. Hint on so ught to obtain a loan for

$2,550.00 and Mr. Knowles had to sign as a co-borrow er. Mr. Hinton’s bank credit card also listed Mr. Knowles as a co-holde r. Ms. Geraldi ne Knowle s, Mr. Kno wles siste r, alsotestifie d. She said

that Mr. Knowles acknowledged Mr. Hinton as his son. He never denied that Mr. Hinton was his son and he behaved toward “Kenny ” in a fathe rl y m anner. She said that Mr. Hinton spent time

with the K

nowles fa

mil y during t he summers. Ms. Mae Gw en do lyn Ford als o testified. She has been Mr. Hinton’s friend for appr oximately fifteen (15) yea

rs. She said that Mr. Knowles referred to Mr. Hinton as his son in her presenc e during

the coupl e of timesshe was a round Mr. Knowles. The Trial Court found the evidence presented by Kenneth Hinto n cre dible . We conclude the Trial Court as the trier of fact weighe d the evid

ence and proper

ly applied the correct legal standards, and we affirm the Trial Court’s Judgment declar ing the decedent, John D. Knowles, as the biological father of Kenneth Hinton.

The cost of the appeal is taxed to the estate of John D. Knowles, Jr.

_________________________ H ERSCHEL P ICKENS F RANKS , J.