Zepeda v. Zepeda, 41 Ill. App. 2d 240 (1963)

A child born as a result of his father’s tortious act of adultery, where the father deceives the mother into believing he is free to marry, does not have a cause of action against his father for “wrongful life.”

Summary

This case addresses the novel claim of “wrongful life,” brought by a child born out of an adulterous relationship against his father. The father deceived the child’s mother into believing he was free to marry her, resulting in the child’s birth. The child sought damages for his illegitimate status and the associated social stigma. The Illinois Appellate Court rejected the claim, holding that while the father’s actions were reprehensible, recognizing a cause of action for wrongful life would be against public policy. The court reasoned that the judiciary should not be the instrument to undermine the family, and because calculating damages based on the difference between non-existence and life is inherently impossible, the claim was not legally cognizable.

Facts

The defendant, the child’s father, engaged in sexual relations with the child’s mother. He fraudulently represented to her that he was single and free to marry. As a result of this deception, the child was born out of wedlock. The plaintiff, the child, through his mother as next friend, filed suit against his father, alleging that his illegitimate status caused him significant harm.

Procedural History

The trial court dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint. The plaintiff appealed the dismissal to the Illinois Appellate Court, First District. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision, holding that the child did not have a cognizable cause of action.

Issue(s)

Whether a child born as a result of his father’s intentional tort of adultery, based on the father’s fraudulent representation of his marital status to the mother, has a legally recognizable cause of action against his father for damages relating to the circumstances of his birth and the stigmatizing status of illegitimacy.

Holding

No, because public policy considerations and the inherent impossibility of calculating damages in such a case preclude recognition of a “wrongful life” cause of action.

Court’s Reasoning

The court acknowledged the father’s morally reprehensible conduct but emphasized that not every wrong is compensable with money damages. The court stated that “being born under one set of circumstances rather than another was not a tort that the common law was prepared to recognize.” The court reasoned that comparing the value of being born into illegitimacy versus not being born at all is a philosophical question, not a legal one. The court stated that the damages would require a calculation of the difference between being and non-being. The court recognized that such a calculation is not within the realm of conventional tort damage assessment. The court further reasoned that allowing the child to recover would have profound social implications, potentially opening the door to suits based on a parent’s undesirable characteristics or genetic predispositions. The court also cited the sanctity of the family unit as a key policy consideration: “[t]he judiciary is not the place to provide a platform for undermining the institution of the family.”