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Shane D. Brooksv.Crystal Lopez

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A19A0324
DecidedJune 11, 2019
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CivilFamily LawChild CustodyCivil ProcedureStatutory InterpretationReversal
Case Summary

Shane Brooks and Crystal Lopez divorced after marrying and raising a child whom Brooks had acknowledged as his own. Their divorce decree and incorporated settlement agreement described the child as born of the marriage and awarded the parents shared custody, with Brooks receiving primary physical custody. Years later, while seeking changes in custody and child support, Lopez alleged that another man was the biological father and moved for genetic testing. The superior court granted testing without allowing Brooks the full response period under the applicable uniform rule. The Court of Appeals reversed. It held that the prior divorce judgment conclusively resolved the parties’ status and barred Lopez from relitigating paternity because she alleged no fraud or mistake that would undermine the decree. The court therefore did not need to reach the best-interest question or the response-period issue. The genetic-testing order was set aside, leaving further custody proceedings to proceed consistently with the prior adjudication.

Opinion

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