Summary
The Florida Third District Court of Appeal held that a prior divorce judgment barred relitigation of the child's paternity under res judicata. The court also held that the trial court could not suspend ongoing child support without a petition for modification, vacated the order, and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the father could relitigate the child's paternity after that issue had been resolved in the prior final judgment of divorce.
- Whether the trial court could suspend the father's ongoing child-support obligation without a pleading seeking modification.
Holdings
- The final judgment of divorce was res judicata as to the child's paternity and barred the father from obtaining a redetermination of paternity in the later contempt proceeding.
- A trial court cannot modify or suspend an existing child-support obligation absent a pleading seeking modification.
Key quotations
“Therefore, the final judgment of divorce is res judicata and bars any redetermination of the paternity of the child.” (1015)
“The trial court cannot modify child support absent a pleading for modification.” (1015)
Factual background
The child was born during the parties' marriage, and the final judgment of divorce resolved the issue of the child's paternity while incorporating the parties' support and property-settlement agreement. During a later contempt proceeding based on the father's failure to pay child support, the father denied paternity. The trial court ordered HLA blood testing of the mother, father, and child and suspended the father's ongoing child-support payments pending the test.
Procedural history
The parties' marriage was dissolved by a final judgment of divorce entered March 3, 1971, which incorporated an alimony, child-support, and property-settlement agreement. In a later contempt proceeding for failure to pay child support, the father attempted to relitigate paternity; the trial court ordered HLA testing and suspended child-support payments. The appellate court vacated the order and remanded for further proceedings.
Remand instructions
The order under review was vacated, and the cause was remanded for further proceedings.