Tennessee Court Upholds Man’s Paternity Fraud Claim

October 3, 2012

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a man who was misled into thinking he was a father and ordered the child’s mother to reimburse him more than $25,000 for child support, medical expenses and insurance premiums he had paid.

In a unanimous ruling, the court said Tennessee law allows a former spouse to pursue a fraud claim against a mother who intentionally misrepresented the identity of a child’s biological father.

The case stemmed from a Maury County lawsuit filed in 2008 by Chadwick Craig against his ex-wife, Tina Marie Hodge.

The couple had married in 1991 after, court documents said, Hodge told Craig she was pregnant and no else could be the father. They divorced in 2001 and Craig became the custodial parent in 2005.

Craig came to doubt he was the boy’s father and sued Hodge after a 2007 DNA test confirmed his suspicions.

The ruling was the first time the Supreme Court had found that a claim of paternity fraud can be made in Tennessee. It notes that five other states have recognized such a claim.

The decision overturned an appellate court decision that had said state law didn’t allow Craig to collect damages equal to support he had paid for the child.

Topics Fraud Tennessee

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Latest Comments

  • October 29, 2012 at 2:20 pm
    VMB says:
    I would like to see more discussion relative to the impact on children when their mother's misrepresent paternity. Specifically - from a medical standpoint. When paternity mis... read more
  • October 7, 2012 at 7:45 pm
    daveinga says:
    according to the stat's on this type of terrible wrong, millions of men in the u.s. could be paying for someone else's child(ren). its not uncommon at all. what is surprising ... read more
  • October 5, 2012 at 1:54 pm
    Switzerland says:
    But you still are arguing and your comments were rude to begin with. Calling people stupid, ignorant and no brains was something I was taught is not so nice. Thank you for s... read more

Add a CommentSee All Comments (17)Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

More News
More News Features