ANTONIO MENDEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, ON BEHALF OF TIFFANY NELSON, APPELLEE
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Antonio Mendez appealed an administrative child support order establishing obligations for three children. The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the Department of Revenue was obligated to terminate the administrative proceeding and file an action in circuit court when Mendez timely requested DNA testing, which the administrative court lacked jurisdiction to address.
The Department of Revenue was obligated to terminate the administrative proceeding and proceed with the action in circuit court upon receipt of Mendez's timely request for paternity determination, even though Mendez did not use the specific statutory language requesting circuit court proceedings.
[1] An administrative agency lacks jurisdiction to determine disputed paternity.
[2] A written request for a court date for DNA testing constitutes a request for the Department of Revenue to proceed in circuit court to determine support obligations when p…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Neither the DOR nor the Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction to hear or determine issues of disputed paternity.”
Establishes the fundamental jurisdictional limitation that triggered the requirement to proceed in circuit court
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMendez was served with notice of an administrative support proceeding for three minor children—two born during his marriage and one before. The notice…
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KELLY, Judge.
Antonio Mendez appeals the final administrative order establishing his support obligations for three children. We reverse.
Mendez was served by the Department of Revenue (DOR) with a notice of proceeding to establish an administrative support order regarding three minor children. Two of the children were born during the time Mendez was married to the children’s mother, and the third was born before the marriage. The notice of proceeding contained a provision stating that neither the DOR nor the Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over custody, visitation, alimony, or disputed paternity and that these issues could only be addressed in circuit court. The notice also provided that the DOR would proceed in circuit court to determine child support if a written request was filed within twenty days of receiving the notice.
Mendez timely responded by writing on both the notice and on the financial affidavit, “I want a court date for DNA testing before I sign anything. Thank you.” Mendez received no response from the DOR regarding • circuit court action. Thereafter, Mendez received a proposed administrative support order advising him of his right to a hearing regarding child support. Mendez timely requested a hearing after which he was ordered by the administrative law judge to pay support for all three children.
Neither the DOR nor the Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction to hear or determine issues of disputed paternity. § 409.2563(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (2004). Furthermore, section 409.2563(2)© provides in pertinent part: “The department shall terminate the administrative proceeding and file an action in circuit court to determine support if within 20 days after receipt of the initial notice the noncustodial parent requests in writing that the department proceed in circuit court.” Mendez did not specifically state in his handwritten notations on the notice of proceeding and the financial affidavit that he wanted the DOR to proceed in circuit court to determine his support obligation; however, it is clear that he was seeking a paternity determination which the administrative court could not provide. Therefore, upon receipt of Mendez’s timely request, the DOR was obligated to terminate the administrative proceeding and proceed with this action in circuit court. See § 409.2563(2)(f).
Reversed and remanded with directions.
DAVIS and CANADY, JJ., Concur.
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Dep't OF Revenue v. Long, 937 So. 2d 1235 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)…H and, subsequent to a hearing, DOAH issued a temporary administrative support order requiring Respondent to pay child support pending the results of genetic testing, which DOAH also ordered. Initially, we relied on Mendez v. Department of Revenue, 898 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005), and section 409.2563(2)(f), Florida Statutes (2005),1 in determining that DOR was required to halt the administrative process and continue in circuit court once the request for paternity testing was made. On rehearing, we have de…