Opinion ID: 1256030
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Public Policy Underpinning the Presumption of Paternity

Text: Even if indefinite denials made outside of the pleadings may in some contexts suffice to withstand a summary judgment motion, such denials should not be adequate in the present context given the surrounding policy and statutory framework. Through AS 25.20.050(d), the legislature created a presumption of parentage that arises when certain scientific test results establish a probability of parentage of at least 95 percent. [10] This presumption may be rebutted, but only by clear and convincing evidence. [11] The legislature added this provision in 1984 with the explicit goal of enhanc[ing] the efforts of those persons who seek to enforce the payment of child support obligations by noncustodial parents having the duty to support. [12] The legislature found that the failure to pay child support not only creates severe hardships for the children and familiesoften lower-income, single-parent families [ ] headed by womenbut also has deleterious effects upon society at large, contributing to increased levels of public assistance payments, child abuse, and delinquency. [13] By shifting and heightening the burden of proof, the legislature sent a clarion call that parents must be responsible for their obligations to their children. In line with this policy, other jurisdictions have required the putative father to present more than mere denials of paternity to defeat a summary judgment motion. The Colorado Supreme Court in People ex rel. J.M.A. affirmed summary judgment where the putative father submitted an opposition brief which contained a general denial of paternity and failed to demonstrate by relevant and specific facts that paternity was genuinely at issue. [14] And Illinois courts have enforced this public policy by consistently holding that a general denial of paternity without evidentiary support is not sufficient to defeat a summary judgment motion where scientific testing has established the presumption of paternity. [15] In the context of paternity cases, in which a blood test result raises the presumption of paternity, we too should properly effectuate the public policy of parental responsibility for children by requiring the putative father to present more than an equivocal general denial of paternity in order to defeat summary judgment.