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Child Support Enforcement Agency v. Doe8/9/2002
Petitioner/plaintiff-appellee Child Support Enforcement Agency, State of Hawaii (CSEA), and petitioners/defendants-appellees Jane Roe (Mother) and Lloyd Y. Asato, Special Administrator for the Estate of John Roe (Putative Father) [hereinafter, Mother and Asato are collectively referred to as the Estate], each timely filed an application for writ of certiorari asking this court to review the opinion of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) in Child Support Enforcement Agency v. Doe, No. 23053 (Haw. Ct. App. Apr. 25, 2002) (ICA Op.). In their respective petitions, both CSEA and the Estate contend, inter alia, that the ICA erred when it: (1) construed the motion filed by respondent/defendant-appellant Jane Doe [hereinafter, Grandmother] pursuant to Hawaii Family Court Rules (HFCR) Rules 60(b)(2) and 60(b)(3) (1982) as a timely motion filed under HFCR Rule 60(b)(6) (1982); and, (2) thereafter, vacated the family court's order denying Grandmother's motion. We granted certiorari as to both petitions. Because we agree with the petitioners and because the issue is dispositive of this case, we vacate the ICA's decision.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Family and Probate Court Proceedings
On August 23, 1996, Putative Father died as a result of injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle accident on the island of Hawaii. On November 18, 1996, Mother gave birth to a child (Daughter) in Honolulu. CSEA filed a petition for paternity in the Family Court of the First Circuit on July 2, 1997, seeking to establish that Putative Father was Daughter's biological father and requesting that custody of Daughter be granted to Mother. The petition named as defendants Mother, Putative Father, and Grandmother, who was alleged in the petition to be Putative Father's mother and the "executor" of Putative Father's estate.
Although Grandmother was identified as the executor of the estate in the petition, Grandmother's ability to represent Putative Father's estate ultimately was more limited. On July 22, 1997, the Third Circuit Court appointed Grandmother special administrator of Putative Father's estate for the sole purpose of prosecuting a wrongful death action and receiving settlement funds in connection with the automobile accident that caused Putative Father's death.
On August 1, 1997, Grandmother appeared with counsel at a hearing in the first circuit family court in response to the paternity petition. The parties agreed that genetic tests would be conducted, if possible, to determine the paternity issue. Although blood and tissue samples were readily available from Mother and Daughter, it was not known at the time of the hearing whether any body tissue or fluids from Putative Father existed. Therefore, it was agreed that CSEA would be responsible for attempting to locate samples that may have been taken from Putative Father following the August 23, 1996 automobile accident. The family court later filed a "(Stipulated) Order Regarding Genetic Testing[,]" which ordered, among other things, that: (1) if available, tissue samples of Putative Father be genetically tested; (2) Mother and Daughter submit to genetic testing; and (3) the results of the testing and the computation of probability statistics "shall be received into evidence at the trial . . . without the need to lay a foundation, subject to the reservation by any party to call witnesses regarding the weight of evidence to be assigned or the procedures employed in conducting said tests."
Subsequently, a blood sample from Putative Father was reportedly located and held by Hilo Hospital, and the parties stipulated that the blood sample of Putative Father "shall be released to Laboratory Corporation of America, Inc. [[hereinaft
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