Court Opinion

ID: 9758267
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 23:18:28.547532+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:48.786075
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION BY
KLEIN, J.:
¶ 1 Because Appellant Severino was aware that Appellee Glover had other sexual partners during the time of conception, I cannot agree with the majority that fraud has been demonstrated. Therefore, I must dissent.
¶ 2 Here, knowing the possibility that he was not the father, Severino still signed an acknowledgement of paternity, had his name on the birth certificate, and, although the relationship ended when the child was only nine months old, paid support and exercised his custody rights.
¶ 3 The majority primarily relies on three cases to overturn the trial court’s finding that there was fraud on the part of the mother: Gebler v. Gatti, 895 A.2d 1 (Pa.Super.2006); J.C. v. J.S., 826 A.2d 1 (Pa.Super.2003); and Doran v. Doran, 820 A.2d 1279 (Pa.Super.2003). I strongly disagree that these cases require this result, and in fact believe their holdings compel the opposite result.4 Therefore, I would affirm the trial judge.
¶ 4 In all three cases cites by the majority, the finding of fraud was supported by the factual determination that the mother knew of at least the possibility that more than one man might be the child’s father. However, in all of these cases the mother kept that knowledge from the putative father. Thus, the “father” was fraudulently induced into accepting financial responsibility and/or providing emotional support for the child. In the instant matter, the putative father knew the entire time that other men might have been the father. Despite this knowledge, Severino accepted, at a minimum, financial responsibility for this child.
¶ 5 Using Gebler as an example, the key difference is that there the Appellant had no idea that the mother was having sexual relations with other men during the period the child was conceived. While the trial court believed the mother thought that the Appellant in Gebler was the father, she alone knew there was a possibility that someone else was the father. That was true even if the majority of her sexual relations were with the Appellant.
¶ 6 As this Court said in Gebler:
Clearly, Mother is holding all the cards here; only she knew that another man might be the biological father and only she could inform [Appellant] Gatti. The mother is the only one who knows who the possible fathers are, at least until a paternity test is done. Mother’s failure to provide Gatti with the information that only she knew, and which she knew if she divulged would provide [Appellant] Gatti with a clear understanding of the matter, lulled him into believing he was the father.
895 A.2d at 4.
¶ 7 The same key difference is present in Doran, supra; J.C., supra; and N.C. v. *719M.H., 923 A.2d 499 (Pa.Super.2007), all relied on by the majority. In all those cases the mother knew someone else might be the father but did not reveal the information. In those cases, while the mothers may have believed the respective Appellants were the fathers, the mothers were the only ones that knew someone else, nonetheless, could be the father.
¶8 The difference in this case is that Severino knew that Glover was having sex with other men during the time of conception and there was the possibility that the child was not his. Unlike Gebler, Doran, J.C. and N.C., the mother showed her hand to Severino, the appellant. Therefore, there was no fraud. That Glover may have believed and apparently continues to believe (against all evidence) that Severino is truly the father, is immaterial because Severino has known for the entire relevant period of time that Glover was sexually active with other men. Whether Glover “showed her cards” or Severino saw them does not matter — what matters is that Severino knew what cards Glover held. To carry the metaphor further, one simply cannot bluff a person who knows what cards are being held. As the majority points out, fraud requires a justifiable reliance on the misrepresentation. Here Severino knew all the salient facts, whether Glover told him or not. Therefore there can be no justifiable reliance on the misrepresentation. The majority cannot adequately explain this difference away.
¶ 9 Severino, knowing he might not be the father, assumed the role of parent by having his name put on the birth certificate, paying support and seeking partial custody, among other things. It now is too late to claim he is not the father. He is the father by estoppel, and since there is no fraud, he cannot now use the DNA test to avoid the responsibility he assumed.
¶ 10 The record fully supports the trial judge’s conclusion that there was no fraud (albeit for different reasons).
Severino testified:
That I did was I went to — I wasn’t there to see the birth. I wasn’t holding her hand. As a matter of fact, I was really skeptical because from the first time she said that you’re pregnant — that she was pregnant and you’re the father, I said, how is that possible? And I swear under oath today that that was my words. I am not the father. How is that possible? And I knew that she had several other partners.
N.T. Hearing, 4/20/07, at 32.
Question (Atty. Holmes): And when you were in a relationship with Ms. Glover, did she ever tell you that she was seeing other people?
Answer: Yes. I knew she was seeing other people. We didn’t establish we knew, and it was an open relationship. I was in college. I mean, I would come to her apartment, and I knew she was seeing other people. It was never anything like, oh, you’re my boyfriend. You’re my girlfriend. I plan on marrying you.
Id. at 45.
¶ 11 It is clear from Severino’s own words that he had absolutely no justifiable reason to rely on Glover’s assertion that he was the father. Severino claims throughout the twelve years that he accepted paternity and paid child support, if only intermittently and upon court order under threat of contempt, he suspected that he was not the father. But not once in the first twelve years of the child’s life did Severino ever challenge his paternity in court. I note from my review of the record that Severino had ample opportunity to raise the issue because the record is replete with petitions to modify support *720payments as well as hearings for contempt for failure to pay support.
¶ 12 One might imagine that if Severino actually doubted his paternity from the time he knew Glover was pregnant, he would have raised that issue. Instead, Severino testified he was at the hospital at the time of the birth and knowingly signed the birth certificate. Then, six months later, when he was told he needed to sign support documents at the Department of Domestic Relations, he willingly went to the office and signed the paperwork that he had every reason to believe obligated him to pay child support. Severino did all of these things despite his testimony that he knew the entire time he was with Glover that she was seeing other men and that any of these other men might well be responsible for the pregnancy. Severino claims that instead of acting upon his independent knowledge of Glover’s amorous activities, he reasonably relied upon her statement to him that he was the father. Given Severino’s admitted knowledge, there is no way to view his reliance on Glover’s assertion as being reasonable. Because there was no justifiable reliance, there can be no fraud. See N.C., supra.
¶ 13 That Severino cannot demonstrate he was the victim of fraud does not automatically end the inquiry. We must still examine whether paternity by estoppel should apply. The majority notes that this issue is not as cut and dried as the trial court apparently believes. I would agree that the evidence could support a finding that even absent fraud, Severino should be released from his self-imposed obligations. However, because the evidence can be so interpreted does not mean that it must. Here, the trial court accepted such evidence sufficient for it to conclude that there was enough of a bond between Sev-erino and the child to forbid Severino from disclaiming his duty of support.
¶ 14 In determining that estoppel does not apply, the majority makes much of the fact that Severino did not emotionally bond with the child, essentially overruling the trial court’s determination on this finding. However, whether Severino bonded with the child is not dispositive.
¶ 15 The cases cited by the majority make it clear that bonding with the child is not a prerequisite to any ruling. While bonding may be considered, it is not the end of the inquiry. Both Doran and J.C. also speak of the financial support of the child as being important.
Estoppel in paternity actions is merely the legal determination that because of a person’s conduct (e.g., holding out the child as his own, or supporting the child) that person, regardless of his true biological status, will not be permitted to deny parentage.
J.C., 826 A.2d at 4 (Pa.Super.2003); Doran, 820 A.2d at 1283 (Pa.Super.2003) (emphasis added). Both cases are quoting Fish v. Behers, 559 Pa. 523, 741 A.2d 721, 723 (1999).
¶ 16 Relying on financial support or emotional bonding in determining estoppel only makes sense. If emotional bonding were the only measure by which to determine paternal estoppel, then absentee fathers would automatically gain a legal advantage. Telling a father he may obtain a future benefit from withholding his care from his child (and it must be remembered that in these cases the “father” believed that he was actually the child’s father) is a poor lesson to teach. Accepting, if only for the sake of argument, the majority’s assertion that Severino provided no emotional support for the child and then using that fact to allow Severino to renounce his responsibilities is simply rewarding Severino for absent parenting.
*721¶ 17 “[Generally, estoppel in paternity issues is aimed at achieving fairness as between the parents by holding both mother and father to their prior conduct regarding paternity of the child.” Conroy v. Rosenwald, 2007 PA Super 400, ¶ 10, 940 A.2d 409 (2007), citing Freedman v. McCandless, 539 Pa. 584, 654 A.2d 529, 538 (1995). Here, Severino accepted the mantel of paternity voluntarily and made support payments for 12 years. He provided gifts as well as financial support to the child. Under the facts of this case, since mother had multiple sexual partners during her college years when the child was conceived, at this late date it is probably impossible to find and obtain support from the biological father. If the child has been relying on the support payments for twelve years, it is unfair to the child to terminate the support at this late date. The prior conduct of both Glover and Sev-erino in this regard weighs heavily in favor of maintaining this financial support. I believe that the majority has improperly relied only on the bonding aspect and has ignored the fact that Severino has been providing financial support for the child for over a decade.
¶ 18 I cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in concluding that fairness requires holding Severino to his prior conduct as father. Severino clearly, by his own testimony, knew that he was not necessarily the father of the child. Despite this knowledge he accepted the mantel of paternity and the concurrent financial responsibility. Severino was, therefore, not a victim of fraud and so there is no reason to allow him to renounce his responsibilities. Therefore, I believe that the trial court’s order should be affirmed and accordingly must dissent.

. I do agree with the majority that the trial court came to improper conclusions of law regarding its determination of fraud. However, I believe that the trial court nonetheless arrived at the correct result.