Opinion ID: 1913787
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Retroactivity of Civil Code Article 209

Text: Prior to 1980, illegitimate children [1] had very limited rights regarding the successions of their alleged parents. For example, illegitimate children were prohibited from participating in the intestate succession of their father if the father was survived by legitimate descendants, ascendants, collateral relations, or a spouse, pursuant to article 919 of the Louisiana Civil Code. In 1980, this Court declared article 919 unconstitutional in that [t]he distinction drawn by art. 919 between these acknowledged illegitimates and all other relations of the decedent is arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable. Succession of Brown, 388 So.2d 1151 (La.1980). More on point, Civil Code Article 1493 excluded illegitimate children from the right of forced heirship. As in Brown, we held that article 1493 was unconstitutional in that it denied illegitimates a right of forced heirship in the intestate succession of their parent while granting the same right to legitimate children. Succession of Clivens, 426 So.2d 585 (La.1982). In 1981, Article 1493 was amended to give illegitimates the same right of forced heirship as illegitimates. Thus, prior to 1980, Alana had no forced heirship rights to Hoffpauir's estate, even if she could prove filiation, as the courts and the legislature gave little consideration to the rights of illegitimates. Since 1980, the code articles on filiation have been amended several times. [2] At the time Alana's suit was filed, Article 209 had been rewritten by Acts 1980, No. 549, § 1, effective July 23, 1980, to set up a procedure by which unacknowledged children could prove filiation entitling them to share in their father's succession by providing, in pertinent part: Art. 209. Methods of proving filiation: 1. An illegitimate child may be entitled to a rebuttable presumption of filiation under the provisions of this article. Or any child may establish filiation, regardless of the circumstances of conception, by a civil proceeding instituted by the child or on his behalf in the parish of his birth, or other power venue as provided by law, within the time limitation prescribed in this article.       4. A child of a man may prove filiation by any means which establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, including acknowledgment in a testament, that he is the child of that man. Evidence that the mother and alleged father were known as living in a state of concubinage and resided as such at the time when the child was conceived creates a rebuttable presumption of filiation between the child and the alleged father. In 1981, Article 209 was again amended by Acts 1981, No. 720, § 1 to provide in pertinent part: Art. 209. Proof of filiation. A. A child not entitled to legitimate filiation nor filiated by the initiative of the parent by legitimation or by acknowledgment under Article 203 must prove filiation by a preponderance of the evidence in a civil proceeding instituted by the child or on his behalf within the time limit provided in this Article. In 1982, Article 209 was again amended by Acts 1982, No. 527, § 1 in pertinent part as follows: Art. 209. Proof of filiation. A. A child not entitled to legitimate filiation nor filiated by the initiative of the parent by legitimation or by acknowledgment under Article 203 must prove filiation as to an alleged living parent by a preponderance of the evidence in a civil proceeding instituted by the child or on his behalf within the time limit provided in this article. B. A child not entitled to legitimate filiation nor filiated by the initiative of the parent by legitimation or by acknowledgment under Article 203 must prove filiation as to an alleged deceased parent by clear and convincing evidence in a civil proceeding instituted by the child or on his behalf within the time limit provided in this article. Plaintiff argues that the trial court and court of appeal were in error in applying the 1982 amendment to Civil Code Article 209, increasing the burden of proof to clear and convincing evidence as to a deceased parent, because the retroactive application took from plaintiff her substantive existing right to prove her case by a preponderance of the evidence. Article 6 of the Louisiana Civil Code directs as follows: In the absence of contrary legislative expression, substantive laws apply prospectively only. Procedural and interpretative laws apply both prospectively and retroactively, unless there is a legislative expression to the contrary. Although La. R.S. 1:2, which provides that [n]o section of the Revised Statutes is retroactive unless it is expressly so stated, appears to conflict with C.C. art. 6, La. R.S. 1:2 has been limited to apply only to substantive and not procedural or interpretive legislation. Manuel v. Louisiana Sheriff's Risk Management Fund, 95-0406 (La.11/27/95), 664 So.2d 81, 86; St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company v. Smith, 609 So.2d 809, 816 (La. 1992); Lott v. Haley, 370 So.2d 521 (La. 1979). Accordingly, in determining whether the clear and convincing standard of C.C. art. 209 is to be applied retroactively, we must engage in a two part inquiry. The first step involves determining whether the Legislature expressed an intent concerning the retroactive or prospective application of the law. If the Legislature expressed such an intent, the process is at an end and the law must be characterized as the Legislature intended. However, if no intent is expressed by the Legislature, we must discern the Legislature's intent and classify the law as either substantive, procedural or interpretative. Manuel, supra; Rousselle v. Plaquemines Parish School Board, 93-1916 (La.2/28/94), 633 So.2d 1235, 1244; St. Paul Fire & Marine, supra ; Segura v. Frank, 93-C-1271 (La.1/14/94), 630 So.2d 714; Cole v. Celotex Corp., 599 So.2d 1058 (La.1992). The Legislature did not express an intent concerning the retroactive or prospective application of C.C. art. 209. Thus we must classify the law requiring clear and convincing evidence to meet the burden of proof as to deceased parents as either substantive, procedural or interpretive. Substantive laws are laws that impose new duties, obligations or responsibilities upon parties, or laws that `establish new rules, rights and duties or change existing ones.' Manuel, supra at 86 (citing St. Paul Fire & Marine, supra at 817). Interpretative laws are those which clarify the meaning of a statute and are deemed to relate back to the time that the law was originally enacted. Id. Procedural laws prescribe a method for enforcing a substantive right and relate to the form of the proceeding or the operation of the laws. Rousselle, supra at 1244; Segura v. Frank, supra . This Court has held that a statute changing a burden of proof is procedural and is to be applied retroactively. Ardoin v. Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co., 360 So.2d 1331 (La.1978). In Ardoin, the burden of proof previously established by case law in medical malpractice cases as to all doctors was the locality rule. At the time of trial, La. R.S. 9:2794, enacted in 1975, established the burden of proof as to specialists as the degree of care ordinarily practiced by physicians or dentists within the involved medical specialty. This Court held that [t]o the extent that the statute establishes a burden of proof in malpractice actions, it clearly should be characterized as procedural and therefore applied to pre-existing facts and relations. [3] 360 So.2d at 1339; see also Lavespere v. Niagara Mach. & Tool Works, Inc., 910 F.2d 167, 182 (5th Cir.1990) ([i]t is well settled in Louisiana that laws affecting burden of proof are `procedural' as that term is used in Civil Code article 6.) Likewise, the change in the burden of proof from preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing falls under the definition of a procedural law in that it prescribes a method for enforcing a substantive right. The substantive right is the right of an illegitimate to prove filiation to a parent, living or deceased. [4] The method of enforcing that substantive right, by proving filiation to a deceased parent by clear and convincing evidence, is procedural. However, procedural laws are not accorded retroactive effect where such retroactivity would operate unconstitutionally to disturb vested rights. Lott v. Haley, supra at 523. In Lott v. Haley , we held that where the retroactive application of a newly enacted statute of limitations would operate to eliminate plaintiff's vested right to sue on his pre-existing cause of action without providing a reasonable period following its enactment to assert his claim, such statute could not be applied retroactively. Id. To the extent that plaintiff argues that she had a vested right to prove her case by a preponderance of the evidence at the time the suit was filed, we disagree. The retroactive application of a higher burden of proof does not eliminate plaintiff's vested right to prove filiation, it merely imposed a different, though reasonable, burden of proof. In addition, this Court has held that a party has no vested or absolute right in procedural matters. State v. Clark, 340 So.2d 208, 220 (La.1976) (the elimination of a right to a directed verdict of acquittal to a defendant who either elects to be tried by jury or who is compelled to be tried by jury because he is charged with a capital offense does not constitute a denial of equal protection or due process rights). On three occasions, this Court has commented on whether the clear and convincing standard of Article 209 is to be applied retroactively, albeit in dicta. In the case at bar, this Court reversed the trial court's denial of Alana's motion to compel the DNA testing of Rosemary's blood. Alana Sudwischer v. Estate of Paul Hoffpauir, 589 So.2d 474 (La. 1991) (on rehearing). In that opinion, we stated that Alana's statutory burden of proof is `clear and convincing evidence.' Id. That Alana had the heightened burden of clear and convincing evidence rather than a preponderance of the evidence was a factor in deciding to allow the DNA testing. In Chatelain v. State, DOTD, 586 So.2d 1373, 1382, n. 10 (La.1991), we stated in a footnote that the clear and convincing standard of Article 209 has been held to be procedural and therefore applicable to cases that are tried after the amendment. Chatelain presented an unusual fact situation in that the mother of the decedent brought a wrongful death and survival action wherein her right to recover was dependant on the decedent having no surviving spouse or children. The defendants, the driver of the car involved in the accident, his insurer and the DOTD, alleged that the mother could not recover because the decedent was survived by a daughter who was legitimated by the decedent under Article 198. Legitimation under Article 198 requires marriage subsequent to the child's birth and formal or informal acknowledgment of the child by the parent but does not specify the burden of proof for legitimation. This Court adopted the clear and convincing standard of Article 209 as the standard for legitimation under 198 when the alleged parent is deceased. 586 So.2d at 1380. Plaintiff argues that we hinted that a change in the burden of proof of Article 209 may be substantive in Succession of Bartie, 472 So.2d 578 (La.1985). In that case, three alleged illegitimate children sought to enforce their forced heirship rights by establishing filiation under Article 209. The suit was filed in 1980, when the burden of proof was the preponderance of the evidence standard, but the trial was not held until 1984, when the burden had been changed to clear and convincing. The trial court held that the plaintiffs had met their burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. The defendants sought a new trial, arguing that the trial court should have applied the clear and convincing standard. In response, the plaintiffs agreed that the proper standard was the clear and convincing standard. The trial court denied the motion for new trial. This Court affirmed, finding it was of no consequence what standard applied because the plaintiffs had met the clear and convincing standard. 472 So.2d at 582. However, we commented as follows: Defendants contend that the trial judge was wrong in this regard and that clear and convincing is the appropriate standard of proof. Plaintiffs, perhaps too generously, concede as much, but contend that the evidence supports the finding that they have proven their filiation to Henry Bartie by clear and convincing evidence. It is not at all certain, however, that clear and convincing is the appropriate standard to apply in this case. Arguably, at least, the amendment to La. C.C. art. 209 in 1982, after plaintiffs filed this lawsuit, increasing plaintiffs' burden in the proof of filiation, is substantive in its effect upon plaintiffs, rather than procedural, and as such, should not be applied retroactively. See Pounds v. Schori, 377 So.2d 1195 (La. 1979); Spaht, Persons, Developments in the Law, 1980-1981, 42 La.L.Rev. 404, 409-410. Nonetheless, we need not resolve that legal issue here, for on the record before us we determine that plaintiffs have established their filiation to Henry Bartie by clear and convincing evidence. Id. Not only is this comment expressly dicta, but the case on which it is based is distinguishable. In Pounds v. Schori , this Court refused to retroactively apply Act 430 of 1976, which made significant changes to the law affecting disavowal of persons born during legal marriage, and instead applied the law in effect at the time the disavowal suit was filed. [5] The pre-existing law required that the father file his disavowal suit within 6 months of the birth of the child, which we held to be a preemptive period which could not be interrupted or suspended. Because the father did not timely file his suit under the pre-existing law, his disavowal action was dismissed. 377 So.2d at 1198. In refusing to apply the new disavowal law retroactively, we reasoned that [t]he status of an individual born during marriage, and entitled to the presumption of legitimacy, is a matter of substance of the utmost import considering it involves not only legitimacy but the right of inheritance. Id. In holding that the period created by Art. 191 was peremptive, we stressed our traditional and historical position of zealously guarding and enforcing the presumption of legitimacy. Id. at 1200. Thus, in effect we found the child's presumption of legitimacy and right to be free from a disavowal action after six months from her birth to be an important substantive right. [6] This is not comparable to a change in a burden of proof wherein an illegitimate child is not losing her right to prove filiation to a deceased parent, which is indeed a substantive right, but merely is held to a different standard of proof. For the reasons previously stated, we now hold that the 1982 amendment to Article 209 changing the burden of proof of filiation to a deceased parent to clear and convincing evidence is procedural and applies retroactively to this filiation action. Thus, we turn to the claim that the lower courts were manifestly erroneous in holding that plaintiff failed to meet that burden. The Comments to Article 209 indicate that [p]roof of filiation may include, but is not limited to: `Informal' acknowledgment; scientific test results; acknowledgment in a testament; and proof that the alleged parents lived in a state of concubinage at the time of conception. In this case, the proof includes evidence of informal acknowledgment and DNA test results. We have discussed the type of evidence that courts have considered in discussing informal acknowledgment as follows: In discussing informal acknowledgment, appellate decision have generally referred to the standards set forth in the original Article 209 for proving paternity, such as the alleged father's acknowledgment of the child in formal writings or in public or private conversations, causing the education of the child as his own, and living in concubinage with the mother in his home at the time of the child's conception. Other conduct which has been considered to constitute informal acknowledgment by the alleged father includes rearing the child in his home, naming the child in his will, giving the child his surname, and holding the child out in the community as his own. Keene, Irregular Successions in Louisiana, 7 Loy. L.Rev. 94, 102-3 (1954), and cases cited therein. Moreover, courts have been reluctant to recognize an informal acknowledgment for purposes of filiation unless the father has recognized the child as his own unequivocally and on several occasions. Succession of Vance, 110 La. 760, 34 So. 767 (1903) (one statement by the alleged father that the doctors were wrong in predicting his children be afflicted because Eliza James was as healthy as anybody did not suffice to invest [James] with the title of a legally acknowledged ... child); Succession of Corsey, 171 La. 663, 131 So. 841 (1930) (statements by the alleged father acknowledging Ethel Casson as his child at various times to various parties constituted acknowledgment); Succession of Matte, 346 So.2d 1345 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1977) (an informal acknowledgment of filiation must be unequivocal and sufficiently frequent so that there is little doubt the alleged father truly believed he was the father of the child). Chatelain v. State, DOTD, supra at 1379. We agree that, in the absence of other evidence, acts by the father recognizing the child as his own must be unequivocal and frequent to constitute an informal acknowledgment. This is particularly so when the illegitimate must prove filiation by clear and convincing evidence such that the actions by the alleged father must be of such frequency that the trier of fact is convinced that paternity is highly probable, i.e. much more probable than its non-existence. Id. In this case, we agree with the lower courts that the plaintiff failed to present evidence of actions by Hoffpauir which were unequivocal and of sufficient frequency to constitute an informal acknowledgment under the clear and convincing standard of proof. However, plaintiff presented other evidence, i.e. DNA test results. Here, the trial judge described the expert testimony surrounding the DNA test results in this case as ambiguous at best and we agree. While the tests do show a high probability that Alana and Rosemary are related in some way, they also show a high probability that John and Brenda are also related to Rosemary. Considering that both parties' experts agreed that the testing showed that all four could not have shared the same father, and considering that all four did not share the same mother, it is difficult to ascribe much weight to the test results but to say that all four are in some way related. However, the DNA tests do not clearly and convincingly prove, along with all the other evidence, that Hoffpauir was Alana's father.