Stevons v. Charles

In Stevons v. Charles, 182 N.C. App. 505, 642 S.E.2d 482 (2007), the defendant father executed an acknowledgment of paternity on 23 September 1997 and the trial court entered an order of paternity and a voluntary support agreement and order on 3 October 1997. Stevons, 182 N.C. App. at 505, 642 S.E.2d at 483. On 4 March 2005, shortly after the mother made statements that the defendant was not the minor child's biological father, the defendant filed a motion pursuant to Rule 60(b) and N.C. Gen. Stat. 110-132 "seeking to set aside his acknowledgment of paternity and seeking a paternity test." Id. at 506, 642 S.E.2d at 483. The trial court denied the defendant's motion pursuant to Rule 60(b), but granted relief under N.C. Gen. Stat. 110-132. Id. The issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred by granting relief under 110-132; we did not examine the trial court's denial of the motion on Rule 60(b) grounds. Id. The Court held that "the one-year time period for seeking relief under Rule 60(b)(1), (2) and (3) applies to challenges under N.C. Gen. Stat. 110-132(a)." Id. at 507, 642 S.E.2d at 484. The Court reversed the trial court's order because the defendant's "motion was filed over seven years after the filing of his acknowledgment of paternity," and were therefore time-barred. Id.