Department of Human Services v. Richardson

CLIFFORD, Justice.

The Department of Human Services (Department) appeals from a decision of the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Alexander, J.) affirming the District Court’s (Wa-terville, Studstrup, J.) dismissal of its paternity action against Daniel Richardson. Richardson successfully argued before the District Court that the claim of paternity was res judicata because a judgment of nonpaternity had been entered in an earlier, separate proceeding. The Department asserts that the District Court erred in dismissing the complaint because it was not a party to the prior proceeding. Alterna…