Fraud fight of husband "duped for 17 yrs"
Very Interesting ..Before the ladies start slagging off the man, please imagine what your reaction would be if it was the other way round..:)
A husband was conned for 17 years by his wife into bringing up her lover's child as his own, a court heard yesterday.
Mark Webb only found out the truth from DNA tests conducted after the girl turned 18, it is alleged. He has tried to sue his ex-wife Lydia Chapman for deceiving him over the paternity of her daughter.
In the first 'paternity fraud' case to reach the Appeal Court, Mr Webb said his former wife and her alleged lover conceived the girl at a hotel in 1985.
Mr Webb, 47, claims he was given no reason to believe the girl was not his and she was registered as the couple's child.
He claims that three months after the girl was born, Mrs Chapman and her alleged lover again met at a summer barbecue, where they sneaked away to a nearby picnic area to have sex.
He alleged that they also discussed the baby's paternity and deliberately set out to make Mr Webb believe the girl was his daughter.
Mr Webb claimed that, for years, his wife had continued with the deception, even giving her husband Birthday and Christmas cards from his 'daughter' referring to him as her 'daddy', the court heard.
Mr Webb, from Bournemouth, claimed he financially supported the girl from birth without a penny in maintenance from the 'true father'.
Lord Justice Thorpe said the case involved 'interesting socio-legal arguments'
Mrs Chapman, who denies deceiving her ex-husband, allegedly told Mr Webb in 2002 that he was not the girl's father and filed for divorce the following year.
Mr Webb's barrister, Nicholas Mostyn, QC, told the court it was not until 2004 – by which time the girl was 18 – that a DNA test confirmed that he was not the girl's father.
Mr Mostyn argued the case raised 'profound questions' about a spouse's 'duty of candour' to their partner. He told the court: 'Honesty and good faith lie at the very heart of the contract of marriage.'
Describing 45-year-old Mrs Chapman as an 'inveterate liar', he insisted she had 'a fixed and certain knowledge' that Mr Webb was not the girl's father.
Mr Mostyn said Mr Webb's 'sense of injustice' meant he wanted to pursue his case to the House of Lords if necessary, but the Appeal Court judges denied him that opportunity yesterday.
They refused him permission to appeal against a Bournemouth County Court judge's dismissal of his damages claim.
Daily Mail
"Very Interesting ..Before the ladies start slagging off the man, please imagine what your reaction would be if it was the other way round..:)"
i feel so hurt.. sniff.. i cannot judge the situation logically anymore.
'"Who can blame Mark Webb for suing his ex-wife after discovering the daughter he’d raised had been fathered by his wife’s lover?
For years he’d loved his vivacious little blonde girl, bursting with pride at all her small achievements, only to find out when she was 17 that he’d been deceived in the cruellest way.
Who can blame him for launching this extraordinary ‘paternity fraud’ case in which he sought damages from his ex-wife and her lover?
Well, I’m sorry, but I do. He has displayed despicable selfishness towards a young woman who is the innocent victim in all this. Yes, you can understand his bitterness towards his ex-wife, but Elspeth did nothing except love him as her father.
Had he succeeded in his action, the court’s decision would have been a slap in the face to every loving step, adoptive and foster parent in the country, with its implication that you can’t love a child who is not biologically yours.
What kind of man is Mark Webb that he could raise a child as his own, love her as his own and then abandon her?
When he first found out, he promised Elspeth that nothing would change between them. But that wasn’t what happened."
He disowned me,’ Elspeth says now. ‘I was just 17. After he found out he wasn’t my father, he just cut me off. I was so close to him.’
The High Court was right to throw out this bewildering case.
Throughout Britain there are countless examples of fine men and women who love children who are not their own as though they were.
The pure and unconditional love of an adult for a child does not require a blood bond.
Yes, Elspeth is not the girl Mr Webb thought she was — but then because of his cruelty, he is certainly not the man she thought he was. And he is not fit to be called
her dad."'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1127098/AMANDA-PLATELL-Man-suing-paternity-fraud-fit-father.html
"Deaths in the Bible. God - 2,270,365
not including the victims of Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the
many plagues, famines, fiery serpents, etc because no specific numbers
were given. Satan - 10."
continue supporting the daughter that i come to loved. the issue here is that there were signs that he was lied to but he ignore them. if he had followed his instinct, he could have save himself from a lot of trouble. and the child could have grown knowing his true identity. anyways, i stick to my answer above. even if i had known the truth now, i will still support the child. i may not be her biological father but i am still her father. after all, family is not only about blood but more so on commitment.
i actually have a friend who thinks that the father she had grown up is her real father, only to find out that she was lied to by her mother. believe me, both "father" and daughter still love each other and still consider each other a family. and both still find it hard to forgive the mother. so sad but the mother had it coming.
arecel. If paternity proved not to be you , Then what would you do.?
britexpat, if i were the husband and have known that my wife is having an affair, i will sue her for adultery! and yes, i will get a dna test for the child.
to tallg, hope I get the link
their mothers have multiple partners, And we have grt number on QL.
what would you do in a similar situation ?
if Mr. Webb had doubts about the paternity of the child, why did he not demand for a dna when the daughter is still young? is there a law in UK that prevented him from doing this? if he had knowledge of his wife's infidelity, why would it not aroused suspicion in him that the child might not be his? sorry but there are loopholes in his story.
I feel sorry for the daughter, how must she feel. Not only does she discover her Dad is not her birth father, but she has to see it dragged through the courts and newspapers too.
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
Well what a nice person you must be, condeming a man as an idiot for trusting his WIFE.
His wife must be an absolute b**ch for doing such a thing.
he must have been such an idiot !!!!!!!! all these years
there will be some slow singing and flowers bringing, if my burglar alarms starts ringing.
wow
that realxing me i was frauded only for two years maybe i am lacky than him
At least I got out of my marriage after the BFH tried to convince me her illegitmate child was mine - A+ and A+ doesn't make O-
Did you Google it first?
Mr Webb caught in a web of deception. Marriage is a contract in much of western part of the world and deception and acting against good faith is a civil wrong. Wonder why the case wouldnt be forwarded for an appeal and judgement favouring Mr Webb?
Mr Webb could try be satisified having a innocent conscience and love of a daughter. After all whats a father for if its just to be on paper?