Philip v. Garcia

Opinion

COFFEE, J.

Effective January 1, 2003, the Legislature amended Family Code section 4502 to eliminate the equitable defense of laches in actions brought by an individual to enforce a judgment for child, family or spousal support. We conclude that laches was previously a defense to an action for child support arrearages, and that the amendment does not apply to cases like the one before us, which were heard before the amendment’s effective date. We further conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it ruled that laches barred appellant Patricia Garcia (mother) from…