Paulussen v. Herion (475 U.S. 557)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 25, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 475 U.S. 557 · 106 S. Ct. 1339
- Decided
- March 25, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 9–0
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Per Curiam. On February 17, 1980, appellant Barbara Paulussen filed a paternity and child support petition in a Bucks County, Pennsylvania, court on behalf of her daughter, who was then seven years old. The petition alleged that the daughter had been born out of wedlock, that appellee George Herion was her natural father, and that he had ceased making contributions to her support in April 1975. Appellee offered as a defense the time bar of the Pennsylvania statute of limitations, which at the time required that paternity actions be commenced within six years of the child’s birth or within two years of the putative father’s last voluntary support contribution or written acknowledgment of paternity. 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann., § 6704(e) (Purdon 1982) (repealed). The defense was sustained against appellant’s contention that the statute violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The Superior Court affirmed, 334 Pa. Super. 585, 483 A. 2d 892 (1985), and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania denied discretionary review. Appellant sought appeal in this Court, and, on October 15, 1985, we noted probable jurisdiction. 474 U. S. 899 (1985). On October 30, 1985, Pennsylvania enacted 1985 Pa. Laws, Act No. 66, to be codified as 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 4343(b), which provides that a child born out of wedlock may commence a paternity action, at…
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