In re Parentage of C.S.

Sherry and Dean, a married couple in an open, non-monogamous relationship, both belonged to a swingers group, where Sherry became involved with Frederick and became pregnant; though Dean was legally presumed C.S.'s father due to the marriage, a DNA test a month after birth excluded him, and Sherry and Dean divorced shortly after. A year and a half after C.S.'s birth, a second DNA test confirmed Frederick, a married attorney who had hidden the affair from his own wife, was the biological father, and Frederick began paying child support. Over two years after C.S.'s birth, Dean, joined by Sherry, petitioned to disestablish Dean's paternity and establish Frederick's; Frederick moved to dismiss as time-barred, and the trial court agreed. Sherry and Dean appealed, arguing the discovery rule should have tolled the limitations period until Frederick's paternity was actually confirmed.