Boyle v. Daigrepont
Boyle v. Daigrepont
Opinion of the Court
Defendant, Phil Lawrence Daigrepont, appeals from a district court judgment declaring him to be the natural father of the child born on October 5, 1972 to Kathy Mary Boyle and condemning him to pay $20.00 per week for the support and maintenance of the minor child. We affirm.
Defendant herein alleges that the judgment of the trial court is erroneous in that plaintiff, Kathy Mary Boyle, individually and for and on behalf of the minor Scott Gerard Boyle, failed to prove defendant’s paternity by a preponderance of the evidence.
From our review of the record, it is apparent that the testimonies elicited on behalf of plaintiff and defendant are in hopeless conflict. Defendant, although admitting to having had sex with plaintiff on
Thus, upon this set of circumstances and the fact that a blood test did not rule out the possibility of defendant being the father, we deem it reasonable for the trial judge to have concluded that defendant could have fathered the child. We turn now to the evidence before the district court in its determination of whether defendant was in fact the child’s father.
The record reveals that when plaintiff notified defendant she suspected she was pregnant, defendant insisted that she go to his doctor and he arranged an appointment under his name. Although defendant denied ever referring to plaintiff as his wife, the doctor testified that defendant told him plaintiff was his spouse. The doctor could not confirm plaintiff’s pregnancy and suggested she go to the hospital for a pregnancy test. Defendant accompanied her to the hospital and subsequently inquired of the doctor about the test results. Upon learning that she was pregnant, defendant and plaintiff informed her sister, Karen. Thereafter, defendant accompanied plaintiff when she informed her sister, Sue, and then her mother about her pregnancy. He also went with plaintiff to speak to a priest concerning her pregnancy.
Plaintiff and her witnesses testified that defendant admitted being the one who got plaintiff pregnant and that he stated he would “make everything alright.” At trial, defendant denied ever having admitted paternity or that he had ever offered to marry plaintiff. In deposition, however, defendant stated that if the baby was his, he would marry plaintiff.
We believe that defendant’s actions are consistent with him believing himself to be the father and that the record, taken as a whole, preponderates in favor of a finding of paternity. Accordingly, we find that the trial court has committed no error.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.