State of Tennessee sued for seeking child support from wrong man

By Ann KnefIllinois resident Joshua Brown is suing the state of Tennessee for sending him a notice indicating he had a child in Tennessee with a female other than his wife.Brown claims the state sent him a non-custodial parent delinquency notice on March 26 indicating he was responsible for past due child support. "The Notice was discovered by his wife," states the complaint filed Oct. 7 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. "Mr. Brown's parents and in-laws learned of the Notice from his wife and also inquired."Brown claims he "reassured all" that he was not having an extra marital affair that produced a child.He claims he informed the state that it had the wrong person by pointing out the difference in middle initial and social security number, but the state persisted by notifying his employer. He claims he also received a notice that his income would be withheld for child support."Plaintiff's wife again saw these various documents again causing turmoil and strife in the home," the complaint states. "Plaintiff again tried to assuage his family's fears. Brown claims he contacted an attorney after the state sent him a notice that his employer was being directed to add the Tennessee child to his health care plan.He claims the correspondence eventually ceased when the state was "apparently satisfied" that it had the wrong man.His suit seeks damages for defamation."This publication caused his pregnant wife and himself severe hardship, caused plaintiff to lose sleep, have constant anxiety, suffer humiliation, embarrassment, nervousness and mental pain and suffering," the complaint states. "That Defendant knew or should have known of the falsity of such statements considering the different middle names and different social security numbers."Brown is represented by Jarrod Beasly of the Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville. He is seeking "an amount in excess of $50,000 for the damage to his reputation at work, at home and within his family, punitive damages and cost of this suit."

Child support appeal rejected

PIERRE - A Stanley County man failed to show a substantial change in financial circumstances in his bid to have child-support payments lowered, the state Supreme Court says.Three months after agreeing to $1,350 monthly support payments for two children following a divorce, Andrew Heiss asked to have his obligation dropped to $100 a month. He said his income had been cut and he had the children half the time. He said his position as assistant manager in a company that operated a farm for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe had been changed to ranch hand.The Supreme Court unanimously sent the case back with direction that the requested cut in payments be denied.

The high court said Heiss had the burden of proving that he had experienced a substantial change in financial conditions because he had agreed to the original support order. He didn't do that, the court said.

Heiss :I would like to know where you get the information you print, the truth is the obligation to pay child support is $703 dollars a month. And I do have the kids half time , and My income had changed I already proved that in court .

No pay, no drive

Parents may lose licenses if they don't pay their child support...
Morethan 15,000 parents who are not paying child support are facing, losing their driver’s, professional and/or recreational licenses if they don’t payup soon. Letters from the Department of Human Services warning delinquent parents are arriving in mailboxes across Tennessee. The notices inform parents that if they are behind at least $500 in their child support and haven't made a payment in more than 90 days, they could lose their license(s). "We are absolutely committed to making sure children in this state receive their court-ordered support,” said Human Services Commissioner Gina Lodge. “Having a child means taking responsibility for that child, and it is appalling that so many parents men and womenare walking out on that duty. License revocation is awake-up call that works for thousands of parents who have been ordered,but are not paying their support.”There are more than 20,000 licenses currently at risk. Parents who face the loss of their driver’s, professional or recreational licenses include registered nurses, real estate agents, security guards, and teachers. How can you stop a income, then expect a person to pay? Right ot wrong, 2rongs don't make a right!

Revocation letters have been sent to non-paying mothers and fathers in every county in Tennessee, covering more than 4,500 cases in Shelby County,2,250 in Davidson County, 1,350 in Knox County and 1,150 in HamiltonCounty.State and federal law allows DHS, which administers theChild Support Program, to revoke the licenses of parents who fail topay their child support. The notices inform parents that they can prevent revocation if they contact their local child support office and set up payment plans, or repay the past due amount. Traditionally, halfof the parents who receive notices end up working with DHS to pay offtheir child support obligation. However, last year more than 7,000 licenses were revoked due to failure to pay.This year, data matches between DHS and the Department of Safety identified more than 18,000 driver's licenses of persons meeting the requirements forrevocation of their licenses. More than 400 professional licenses issued by the Departments of Commerce and Insurance, Health andEducation are also at risk. Approximately 1,200 hunting and fishing licenses will also be subject to revocation. In addition to the license revocation program, the Child Support division and its partners use enforcement tools such as administrative wage assignmentor garnishment, liens and federal intercept programs to collectsupport. In recent months, DHS intercepted 41,000 federal economic stimulus checks, totaling more than $24 million. There are currently 260,000 child support cases under court order in Tennessee. Of these, roughly 55 percent pay their court ordered support in atimely manner. For more information on the Child Support Program, visit the DHS Web site at state.tn.us/humanserv/cs/cs_main.htm