Tennessee Department of Human Services v. Barbee

BROCK, Justice.

This is a paternity action. The focus of the litigation is Yvonne Coleman’s son, Cedric Jerome Coleman, who was born on February 19, 1970. On October 27, 1977, the Tennessee Department of Human Services, as an assignee of Yvonne Coleman, filed a petition to establish paternity against J.B. Barbee. This case was subsequently transferred to the Circuit Court for Shelby County, Tennessee.

On October 26, 1979, in open court the case was set for trial on January 23, 1980. At that time no answer had been filed on behalf of the defendant. There is no evidence in the record indicating…