State of Washington v. Cobb

Opinion

CAMPBELL, P. J.

This is an appeal by the State of Washington from a judgment for the establishment of child support. The trial court reviewed Civil Code section 4727, part of the Agnos Child Support Standards Act of 1984 (hereinafter Agnos Act or Act) and declared it to be a violation of the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law. It therefore made an award lower than that provided for in the Agnos Act. We reverse the judgment.

FACTS

1

The defendant Jerry Loye Cobb, Jr., and Katherine Cobb were married on December 27, 1980. As a result of that union the minor child Joshua Cobb was bom on March 7, 1981. Thereafter, a judgment of dissolution of their marriage was filed in Riverside County in April 1985. A previously filed stipulation by the parties concerning custody and visitation was incorporated into the judgment. In November 1984, the mother and the minor child began receiving public assistance (aid to families with dependent children, hereinafter AFDC) in the State of Washington.

At the July 24, 1985, hearing, the parties stipulated that the minor child was on public assistance in the State of Washington, that defendant’s net disposable income was $1,578 per month, and that Katherine Cobb and defendant have a shared physical custody arrangement with defendant in which defendant had custody of the minor child for more than 30 percent of a 365-day period. The parties stipulated that the minimum child support award without the shared physical custody arrangement is $284 per month.

The trial court reviewed Civil Code section 4727 and declared it unconstitutional as a violation of the equal protection of the law provisions of the

[776]

federal and state Constitutions.

2

The court ordered child support of $200, that is, an amount below the award dictated by the Agnos Act, $284.

Plaintiffs appealed.