Scoggins v. Medlock

I respectfully dissent. Contrary to the majority opinion, Arkansas Code Annotated section 9-10-108 (Repl.2009) is not the exclusive means to determine paternity. According to the majority, the paternity of a child may only be determined during the lifetime of that child. The statutes cited by the majority do not so provide. Such an interpretation defeats the clear legislative intent under the wrongful-death statute that a father may be a beneficiary. See Ark.Code Ann. § 16 — 62—102(d) (Supp. 1999). If the majority is correct, the putative father of a child who dies leaving property may not…