L.K. v. Golightly

Opinion

ROTHSCHILD, Acting P. J. Plaintiff L.K. appeals from the judgment of dismissal entered when the trial court sustained, without leave to amend, defendants’ demurrer to L.K.’s second amended complaint. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

This lawsuit arises out of a child support dispute concerning L.K.’s son, P.G., who was bom in 1988. Because P.G. and his father have the same initials, we will refer to them as “Son” and “Father” in order to avoid confusion.

The second amended complaint and documents attached thereto reflect that in October 1991, in a paternity suit filed by L.K. against Father, the superior [643]court ordered Father to pay L.K. $3,500 per month as pendente lite child support for Son, retroactive to October 1990. In July 1993, the court entered judgment decreeing that Father is the natural father of Son, and ordering Father to pay child support in the amount of $1,000 per month from June 1, 1993, until Son reached the age of 18 or graduated from high school or became emancipated. Father’s child support obligation thus ended no later than Son’s 18th birthday, in 2006.

In 2007, the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department (CSSD) filed a motion to determine child support arrears. The attorney declaration attached to the motion stated that an audit conducted by the CSSD had determined that Father owed $43,104.02 in child support arrears as of August 3, 2007. On April 22, 2008, the court entered an order on the CSSD’s motion, determining that the arrears were $43,104.02 as of July 31, 2007.

On July 10, 2008, L.K. filed a “request for Complaint Resolution” with the CSSD contending that her account had been mishandled and that she was “owed more money.” The record also indicates that she had filed a previous “Request for Complaint Resolution” on May 16, 2008, but the record does not contain a copy.

The administrative hearing on L.K.’s complaint was conducted telephonically on November 4, 2008. The administrative law judge issued a proposed decision on November 20, 2008, and the California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) adopted it as the final decision on December 1, 2008. The decision states that evidence introduced at the hearing showed that from August 2007 through June 2008, the CSSD collected from Father and disbursed to L.K. child support arrears in the amount of $47,161.56. The CSSD contended that interest accounted for the difference between the $43,104.02 in arrears previously determined by the court and the $47,161.56 that was actually collected, but the CSSD did not prepare an audit. The evidence further showed that the CSSD began closure of L.K.’s account on June 24, 2008, because all arrears had been paid in full, and the account was finally closed on August 25, 2008. The DCSS decision determined that the CSSD had violated California regulations by failing to prepare a final audit of L.K.’s account, and the decision directed the CSSD to prepare the required audit. In all other respects, however, the DCSS decision denied L.K.’s complaint.