Perez v. Department of Health

California Court of Appeal Jul 25, 1977 No. Civ. 50057Published

Before: Roth

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Holding. The court held that a paternity judgment is void when the children, who are indispensable parties, were not joined in the action. Furthermore, de facto parents are proper parties to paternity proceedings, and the failure to join them under circumstances suggesting fraud warrants vacating the judgment.

Issues

Whether the failure to join the children as parties in a paternity action renders the resulting judgment void.
Whether de facto parents are proper parties to paternity proceedings.
Whether the trial court erred in denying the motion to vacate the paternity judgment.

Disposition. reversed and remanded

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The absence of indispensable parties deprives the court of jurisdiction, and a judgment entered under such circumstances is void.”

“The uncontradicted showing in the affidavits establishes that Vera and Colin were de facto parents.”

Opinion

ROTH, P. J.

On June 18, 1970 Raul and Saul, twin brothers, were born at the Community Hospital of Los Angeles. Their birth certificates show that Maria Vera (Del Socorro Fernandez), the natural mother of the twins, declined to state the name of the father. However, separate certificates of baptism were issued by Our Lady Queen of Angels Church

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in Los Angeles on September 26, 1970, showing that Casimiro Perez was the father of Raul and Saul and Socorro Fernandez their mother.

On August 2, 1973, Perez filed an action to establish paternity, naming the State of California, Department of Health, as respondent and alleging in addition to the facts set forth above that: he was the natural father of the twins; Maria died in Tijuana on March 9, 1973; he believed the twins were with their maternal grandmother, Esperanza Vera Colin “somewhere in Mexico;” and that the Department of Health had refused his request to amend the birth certificate to show he was the father of the twins.

No person other than Department of Health of the State of California was named or served with the paternity action.

On October 19, 1973, the State of California, Department of Health, appeared and filed a general denial.

On January 7, 1974, the court entered a judgment which recited: appearance by respondent and the Attorney General; its consideration of the verified complaint and the exhibits consisting of certificates of birth and baptism; and the fact that Department of Health of the State of California had not opposed the action. The court then entered a judgment declaring Perez to be the natural father of the twins.

On February 21, 1975, Perez caused the Sheriff of Los Angeles County to pick up the twins while they were in attendance at the Utah Elementary School, and they were delivered to the custody of Perez.

On March 16, 1976, Colin, the maternal grandmother, and David Gonzalez Vera, the maternal uncle of the twins, moved to have the judgment of paternity entered on January 7, 1974, in favor of Perez set aside.

Perez v. Department of Health

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ROTH, P. J.

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