Lawyer Loses Paternity Case Because Daughter Was Born to Married Couple
A New York lawyer whose daughter was conceived and born when the mother was married to another man has lost his paternity case.
A Michigan appeals court ruled against Buffalo-area lawyer Anthony Pecoraro, whose child was the product of an affair with a former law school classmate, Gina Rostagno-Wallat, according to the opinion.
Michigan law presumes a child born to a married couple belongs to the couple. The presumption can’t be rebutted unless a court rules the child is not the product of the marriage in a proceeding between the husband and wife. Because there was no such determination, the appeals court said, Pecoraro has no standing.
A New York court had ruled for Pecararo even though it found it had no personal jurisdiction over Rostagno-Wallat’s husband. The Michigan appeals court said it was not required to honor the New York ruling because of the jurisdictional problem.
Pecoraro’s lawyer, Jeff Cojocar, tells the Associated Press that the ruling is “absurd.”
