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Court of Appeals of New Mexico - 130 N.M. 214, 130 N.M. 214, 22 P.3d 682, 2001-NMCA-017
Tags: Public Policy
tl;dr:
Public policy interests in encouraging child support outweigh a claim of “contraceptive fraud” from a father against a mother who stopped taking birth control.Video Summary
Case Summary
In Wallis v. Smith (2001), a New Mexico Court of Appeals case, Peter Wallis sued Kellie Rae Smith for financial damages, claiming fraud, breach of contract, conversion, and prima facie tort. Wallis and Smith had a sexual relationship based on Smith's use of birth control, as Wallis did not want children. However, Smith stopped using birth control without telling Wallis, got pregnant, and asked Wallis for child support.
Wallis then sued Smith for the child support money and other expenses, arguing that she tricked him and broke their agreement. The district court dismissed Wallis's case, and he appealed. The Court of Appeals agreed with the dismissal, stating that Wallis's claims went against public policy. The court's test for public policy is determining if a contract or tort is against society's or justice's interests. They found that Wallis's claims went against the child support policy, as both parents must support their children financially, despite any agreements or intentions.
The court also denied Wallis's efforts to apply traditional contract and tort principles to the contraception agreement, finding them irrelevant and fruitless. Wallis had no legal basis for his claims, and his case was correctly dismissed.
This case highlights public policy, a legal principle that can invalidate a contract or tort if it goes against society's or justice's interests. Public policy is influenced by statutory law, common law, moral, and ethical considerations affecting the parties' rights and duties. It recognizes the legal limitations and restrictions on contracts and torts and invalidates those that violate these constraints.
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The court dismissed Peter Wallis's lawsuit against Kellie Rae Smith for fraud, breach of contract, conversion, and prima facie tort after fathering her child due to her alleged misrepresentation of practicing birth control. The court affirmed the dismissal, stating that the causes of action are not cognizable in New Mexico due to contravening the public policy of the state. The court recognized the importance of the public policy of child support and rejected Wallis's attempt to apply traditional contract and tort principles to his contraceptive agreement. The court ruled that seeking monetary compensation for child support is not permitted, regardless of gender, and cited previous cases where claims of contraceptive fraud were dismissed. The court granted Smith's motion to quash the subpoenas and sanctioned Wallis with a $1,000 fine for seeking the materials by a subpoena after Smith had raised a privilege objection.
Judge Alarid agrees with the majority's decision to uphold the trial court's ruling, but expresses concern that the majority opinion may suggest acceptance of Wallis' argument regarding legally-enforceable rights based on Smith's commitment to birth control. Judge Alarid notes that New Mexico courts prioritize privacy interests in cases involving intimate interpersonal behavior and have rejected causes of action that regulate such relationships. He argues that recognizing a claim based on intentional misrepresentation in reproductive relationships would establish standards of conduct in a private and important form of interpersonal relations. Without a clear balance favoring the imposition of legal duties of disclosure in reproductive relations between competent adult sex partners, the law should not interfere with the ethics of the participants. The plaintiff has not shown a clear balance in favor of recognizing a cause of action for contraceptive fraud or breach of promise to practice birth control.
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