Sanchez

A default paternity judgment was entered against appellant, Celestino Sanchez, Jr., in 1996. In 2003, appellant moved to modify his child support obligation to zero based on a DNA parentage report allegedly demonstrating that he was not the biological father of the child. The trial court denied this motion.

Appellant contends the trial court abused its discretion. According to appellant, the trial court should have granted equitable relief based on the mother’s fraud. Appellant relies on the recent opinion in County of Los Angeles v. Navarro (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 246 [ 14 Cal.Rptr.3d 905 ], wherein the court held that equity could be invoked to set aside a five-year-old default paternity judgment where the County of Los Angeles conceded that the defendant had been mistakenly charged with being the child’s father.

However, when the trial court denied appellant’s motion to modify child support, the court was following the law in effect at the time. Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion and this order will be affirmed. Nevertheless, there is new legislation that permits a paternity judgment to be set aside based on genetic testing. (Fam. Code, § 7645 et seq.)…