This question is up for consideration at the State of Tennessee Supreme Court. The case involves a man who believes his ex-wife fraudulently convinced him to marry her and provide child support to a child who was not really his.
A lower court originally awarded him $26,000 in back child support and $100,000 in emotional damages (the man had undergone a vasectomy, believing he already had a biological child). However, the Tennessee Court of Appeals struck down the award, saying that the state law does not allow the return of child support payments that a court has previously ordered.
Legal experts believe this is the first time the state’s Supreme Court will decide whether paternity fraud is grounds to sue.
What do you think? In cases of paternity fraud, should the man be compensated for previous child support payments?