Case Name: Betsy A. LYNN, Appellant v. Edward POWELL and Daniel Mark Lynn, Appellees
Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 2002-10-15
Citations: 809 A.2d 927
Docket Number: 
Parties: Betsy A. LYNN, Appellant v. Edward POWELL and Daniel Mark Lynn, Appellees
Judges: Before: STEVENS, BOWES, and OLSZEWSKI, JJ.
Reporter: West's Atlantic Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 809
Pages: 927–933

Head Matter:
Betsy A. LYNN, Appellant v. Edward POWELL and Daniel Mark Lynn, Appellees
Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Submitted Aug. 12, 2002.
Filed Oct. 15, 2002.
Tammi L. Elkin, North East, for appellant.
Edward Powell, appellee, pro se.
Daniel M. Lynn, appellee, pro se.
Before: STEVENS, BOWES, and OLSZEWSKI, JJ.

Opinion:
OLSZEWSKI, J:
¶ 1 Betsy A. Lynn appeals from the lower court's February 15, 2002, order denying her motion to adjudicate presumption of paternity. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.
¶2 Daniel Mark Lynn ("husband") and Betsy A. Lynn ("wife") married on June 1, 1990. After nine years, the couple separated in the summer of 1999. While separated, wife engaged in a sexual relationship with Edward Powell.
¶ 3 Husband and wife subsequently reconciled in September 1999. In October 1999, wife learned that she was pregnant, but was unsure of the father. Sometime in February 2000, wife concluded that Mr. Powell was the father. At that point, she revealed her affair to husband. In spite of wife's infidelity, the couple continued their marriage, and wife gave birth to Bryce Patrick Lynn on April 21, 2000.
¶ 4 Husband has accepted Bryce as his own since learning of wife's pregnancy. See N.T., 1/25/02, at 32. Husband was present in the delivery room during his birth and his name appears on Bryce's birth certificate. Id. Bryce uses husband's surname and receives health insurance under husband's policy. Id. Husband and wife also plan to claim Bryce on their income tax returns. Id. While at the same time, Mr. Powell has expressed no interest in Bryce.
¶ 5 There is no dispute that husband did not father Bryce. Husband and wife both testified at the January 25, 2002, paternity hearing that they did not engage in sexual activity with each other during their separation. Additionally, a DNA test performed in June 2000 showed, unequivocally, that husband was not Bryce's biological father. Husband and wife's story also appeared on ABC-TV's national program "Primetime Live" and, in reiterating their story on national television, the couple pronounced that husband was not Bryce's father.
¶ 6 Wife subsequently filed a motion for paternity in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas on November 29, 2001. Wife sought to overcome the presumption of paternity and the application of the doctrine of estoppel in order to pursue a child support claim against Mr. Powell. Trial Court Opinion and Order, 2/15/02, at 2. The trial court denied wife's motion on February 15, 2002, based on the doctrine of estoppel. This timely appeal followed.
¶ 7 Wife raises the following issue for our review:
Does the doctrine of estoppel prevent the husband from denying his paternity despite the fact that appellant's husband is not the child's biological father, and has not held himself to be the biological father, but has assisted in the child's care?
Brief for Appellant at 9 (capitalization omitted).
¶8 The doctrine of estoppel in paternity actions is a legal determination based on a person's conduct. McConnell v. Berkheimer, 781 A.2d 206, 210 (Pa.Super.2001). We do not allow a person to deny "parentage" of a child, regardless of biological status, if that person holds the child out as his own and provides support. Id. When such circumstances exist, we will also not allow a child's mother to sue a third party for support based on biological status. Id. Plainly, the law does not allow a person to challenge his role as a parent once he has accepted it, even with contrary DNA and blood tests. Id.
¶ 9 In analyzing such a case we must: (1) consider whether the presumption of paternity applies, and, if so, whether it has been rebutted; (2) if the presumption does not apply or has been rebutted, we then determine whether estoppel applies. Brinkley v. King, 549 Pa. 241, 701 A.2d 176, 180 (1997).
¶ 10 Our Supreme Court has written extensively on the presumption of paternity, noting:
generally, a child conceived or born during the marriage is presumed to be the child of the marriage; this presumption is one of the strongest presumptions of the law of Pennsylvania; and the presumption may be overcome by clear and convincing evidence either that the presumptive father had no access . to the mother or the presumptive father was physically incapable of procreation at the time of conception.
Id. at 179 (footnote omitted). The presumption of paternity's policy aim is the preservation of marriage. B.S. v. T.M., 782 A.2d 1031, 1035 (Pa.Super.2001) (citing Strauser v. Stahr, 556 Pa. 83, 726 A.2d 1052, 1055 (1999)). As such, the presumption is applied only in cases where its application would advance the preservation of marriage. Strauser, 726 A.2d at 1055. It is, therefore, not applied in cases where it does not advance that goal. Id.
¶ 11 Instantly, we agree with the trial court that application of the presumption in this case would be futile. Wife has consistently acknowledged that Mr. Powell fathered Bryce. In addition, the couple had a personal DNA test performed in June 2000, which unambiguously excluded husband as Bryce's father. Bryce, therefore, can not be presumed a child of husband and wife's marriage. Moreover, the couple testified that regardless of the outcome of these proceedings their marriage would continue. Application of the presumption in this case will not act to further or protect the marriage. We believe, based on our holding in B.S. v. T.S., the trial court was correct in not applying the presumption in this case. 782 A.2d 1031 (Pa.Super.2001).
¶ 12 Since we have determined that the presumption does not apply, we must now determine if estoppel applies. Brinkley, 701 A.2d at 180. Estoppel applies to a paternity challenge where a party, by his conduct, has clearly accepted and supported the child. Id.
¶ 13 We agree with the trial court that husband and wife are estopped from asserting a paternity claim. Clearly, the couple has accepted husband as the "father" of Bryce. In her brief, Wife emphasizes the fact that Mr. Powell is Bryce's biological father and not husband. It is undisputed that husband did not father Bryce. Based on the facts, however, we believe husband has held himself out as Bryce's natural father by accepting traditional fatherly responsibilities; namely, appearing on Bryce's birth certificate, Bryce using husband's surname, affording Bryce health insurance coverage and most importantly, offering day-to-day care, love and shelter. In essence, husband's conduct is conclusive of his acceptance of his role as Bryce's father.
¶ 14 Allowing wife now to assert a paternity claim against Mr. Powell would run contrary to the spirit of the law, and the best interest of the child. Husband acted in an honorable manner in accepting and supporting Bryce as his own child; the couple should not now seek financial gain.
¶ 15 Order affirmed.
¶ 16 Dissenting Opinion by BOWES, J.
. Appellee Edward Powell has not filed a brief with this Court.