Vineyard v. Hood

OPINION

SUSANO, Judge.

In this case, David Vineyard seeks to legitimate and establish a parent-child relationship with his alleged daughter, Kayla Lynn Hood, who was bom to Heather Elaine Hood (Mother) on November 8, 1994. Mother opposes Vineyard’s attempt to legitimate the child on the ground that she has not consented to the child’s legitimation.1 Mother and her parents filed a motion to dismiss, which the juvenile court granted, holding, in effect, that a putative father has no avenue by which to legitimate his child, absent the mother’s consent, under Tennessee’s legitimation statutes. In…