Does the clean hands doctrine apply to bar a putative father's cause of action in a case where the mother became pregnant prior to the age of consent?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Brandie W., In re, 157 Cal.App.3d 110, 203 Cal.Rptr. 537 (Cal. App. 1984):
In Hines v. Sullivan (1980) 431 N.Y.S.2d 868, 431 N.Y.S.2d 868, the court held that a putative father was precluded from bringing a cause of action under New York law because the "basis of his claim of paternity rest[ed] upon his own wrongdoing." (Id., at p. 870, 431 N.Y.S.2d 868.) The court reasoned that the basis of the suit was the result of the father's wrongdoing because the mother was only 14 or 15 years old when she became pregnant.
Page 540
Less than a year later, in LaCroix v. Deyo (1981) 108 Misc.2d 382, 437 N.Y.S.2d 517, a different New York family court refused to apply the clean hands doctrine to bar a putative father's cause of action in a case where the mother became pregnant prior to reaching the age of consent.
"The most advanced legal research software ever built."
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.
