Hodge v. Craig

Following their divorce, the former husband of a child's mother filed suit against the mother for negligent misrepresentation, alleging that she had intentionally misled him into believing that he was the child's biological father. The trial court ruled in favor of the former husband and awarded him $134,877 in compensatory damages, emotional distress, and attorney's fees. The court of appeals determined the evidence supported the trial court's finding that the child's mother had intentionally misrepresented the identity of the child's biological father but (1) reversed the damage award based on the post-divorce payments for child support, medical expenses, and insurance expenses on the ground that these damages amounted to a prohibited retroactive modification of a child support order, (2) reversed the damage award for emotional distress, and (3) reversed the award for attorney's fees. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the existing common-law action for intentional misrepresentation encompasses the claims made in this case by the former husband and that the trial court's damage award based on the former husband's post-divorce payments for his child's expenses was not an improper retroactive modification of the former husband's child support obligation. View "Hodge v. Craig" on Justia Law