In Re the Adoption of Clark

I am convinced that the majority in the Court of Appeals correctly held that the adoption proceeding was improperly dismissed and could have gone forward without the consent of the child’s putative father. In holding that the trial court did not err in dismissing the adoption petition instead of allowing the affidavit required by N.C.G.S. § 48-13 to relate back to the date the petition was first filed with a copy of the termination order, the majority has mistaken evidence for pleadings, and it has ignored the strong expression of legislative intent set out in the statute. While the…