Paternity case settled

The Supreme Court has decided in favour of an Australian millionaire fighting against being named the father of a Taranaki unionist.

John Hemmes has been fighting since 1991 not to be declared the natural father of John Young and his late twin sister, Dale Irmonger.

The twins were born in 1953 in Wellington.. Their mother, Lola Young, claimed she had a relationship with Mr Hemmes in Wellington, but never saw him again after telling him she was pregnant.

Mr Young has been seeking a declaration of paternity under the Status of Children Act 1969.

Previously, the Court of Appeal found an adopted person could obtain a declaration that the relationship of father and child existed between Mr Young and a man he claimed to be his biological father.

Mr Hemmes appealed to the Supreme Court, which said in a judgment yesterday that it had come to the opposite conclusion.

Apart from exceptions not relevant to this case, a child ceased for all purposes to be the child of his biological parents and became the child of his adoptive parents when an adoption order was made.

But this conclusion did not prevent an adopted person seeking to prove another person was his biological parent if proof was necessary for some legal purpose.

Such a purpose might be in proceedings for a declaration of right under the Declaratory Judgments Act 1908, or in proceedings otherwise properly constituted in which the determination of fact was necessary.

- NZPA