Post by Dean Robinson on Mar 1, 2008 17:38:29 GMT -5
Big daddy error
City sent him child support papers -- from woman he's never met
By JONATHAN JENKINS, SUN MEDIA
www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/03/01/4886078-sun.html
Sean Malon has racked up more than $800 worth of bills fighting a child support application. (Dave Abel, Sun Media)
The legal papers arrived in a bulky envelope from Toronto Social Services, telling Sean Malon he was being sued for custody and support of three children he had fathered with a woman he'd never even heard of -- let alone met.
Five weeks later he's still mired in bureaucratic quicksand, racking up expenses and legal bills no one is willing to pay, even though everyone has acknowledged he's not the children's dad.
"I don't know this woman, I've never had relations with this woman, so obviously I don't have kids with this woman," Malon, 40, said.
"I just don't want this happening to another guy. I'm raising my own kids. I don't need another three."
Delivered to him at work, the letter landed on Malon's lap a few days after the custody and support application was filed Jan. 22. It alleges he began dating Christine Gregory, 43, in 1992 in an on-again, off-again relationship that eventually produced three kids now between the ages of 4 and 14.
Malon, the papers said, had never paid a penny towards their upbringing, despite holding down steady work.
The papers had his correct birthdate, his employer's name and address and even his job description -- although all the other details, including a recap of the couple's relationship, were wrong.
"The respondent, Sean Malon, has a legal obligation to provide support as he is the biological father of the children," the papers say.
"He is young, healthy and able to work full-time. He is a skilled machinist. He works full-time for Rotoflex International and has worked there for a number of years."
Baffled, he immediately got on the phone to straighten things out. He was briskly rebuffed by social services.
"The woman I talked to gave me her last name and when I asked for her first name, she said 'Miss,' " Malon said.
"The call went downhill from there. She told me. 'We'll see you in court.' "
Determined to fight, Malon got a lawyer and drafted a response, denying he was the father and demanding the city pay for a DNA test, plus his legal fees and expenses.
That matter is set to be heard in court March 17.
"What really bothers me is these papers were addressed to my work," Malon said.
"What's stopping them from picking up the phone?
"After I went to a lawyer, the next day she phoned me back asking for a physical description. I said, 'No, I already spent ($350) on a lawyer. You said see you in court, that's what we'll do.' "
That conversation was the first hint of frailty in the claim against him, but by then he was already paying a lawyer and running up expenses. With his home in Brantford and work an hour away in Mississauga, it's a 272-km roundtrip for Malon to file court papers, not to mention the time off from work.
Then, he got a call from city solicitor Carol Smith, suggesting a possible settlement.
"She said a mistake had been made and they wanted to rectify it," Malon said, adding she offered him $350 for his lawyer.
But, he said, Smith wanted to know why he was naming Toronto Social Services in his request for fees and expenses when she said the city had nothing to do with Gregory's application for support.
"If it's got nothing to do with the city, why are they offering me $350 for my lawyer?" Malon asked.
"I didn't even get an 'I'm sorry.' "
Nor was there any explanation of how the error had been made. When he asked, he was told the matter was covered by privacy legislation.
Smith followed up with a letter to Malon on Feb. 21, in which she said the city only acted on information provided by Christine Gregory and was not "the directing mind of the litigation.
"The action is between you and Christine Gregory," Smith wrote.
"While the City of Toronto did assist Ms. Gregory with her application against you, the City of Toronto did not instigate, control or direct the litigation.
"The City of Toronto cannot be faulted for only doing what it is supposed to do on the information given to it by Ms. Gregory."
That's news to Gregory, who says she never gave any information to social services about where her Sean Malon could be found, nor did she know his birthdate.
"They're wrong. I didn't give them that information," Gregory said yesterday.
"They're the ones that found him, they're the ones that got that information.
"I thought they found the right person but they never let me talk to him, they never gave me a number to see if he's the right guy. They said don't worry about that, just worry about going to court."
'IS THIS A BLACK GUY'
She said all she gave social services was the name Sean Malon and was pleasantly surprised when they said her ex had been tracked down.
"I thought they'd talked to him," she said. "They came back about a month later and said is this a black guy or a white guy? I said it was a black guy and they said it was the wrong person. As soon as they told me (Malon) was a white person I knew it was the wrong guy."
She said she was surprised social services hadn't made any effort to call Malon and confirm his identity before serving the papers.
"I'm trying to call the guy and apologize but it's not my fault," Gregory said.
"They're the ones who found where this guy works. They said 'Don't worry about it. Go to court.'
"Before they go ahead and do this they should make sure. They should call the guy and talk to him to make sure it's the right person."
Malon agrees and says it's beyond him why the city can claim to have no involvement even though his notice came on city letterhead.
Smith declined to comment yesterday because the case is before the courts.
"I'm pretty pissed," Malon said. "They need to change their procedures.
"I'm a single father myself raising kids and they pull this name out without any investigation whatsoever, not even contacting me and asking if we can settle out of court for child support or whatever."
Despite that, he said he's still weighing whether he'll accept the city's offer of $350. He's not sure he has the time or energy to fight a Goliath the size of Toronto, even if it means swallowing the $800 in lost wages and other expenses he has meticulously listed.
At the bottom of the list, he's added one more item:
"Stress -- priceless."
City sent him child support papers -- from woman he's never met
By JONATHAN JENKINS, SUN MEDIA
www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/03/01/4886078-sun.html
Sean Malon has racked up more than $800 worth of bills fighting a child support application. (Dave Abel, Sun Media)
The legal papers arrived in a bulky envelope from Toronto Social Services, telling Sean Malon he was being sued for custody and support of three children he had fathered with a woman he'd never even heard of -- let alone met.
Five weeks later he's still mired in bureaucratic quicksand, racking up expenses and legal bills no one is willing to pay, even though everyone has acknowledged he's not the children's dad.
"I don't know this woman, I've never had relations with this woman, so obviously I don't have kids with this woman," Malon, 40, said.
"I just don't want this happening to another guy. I'm raising my own kids. I don't need another three."
Delivered to him at work, the letter landed on Malon's lap a few days after the custody and support application was filed Jan. 22. It alleges he began dating Christine Gregory, 43, in 1992 in an on-again, off-again relationship that eventually produced three kids now between the ages of 4 and 14.
Malon, the papers said, had never paid a penny towards their upbringing, despite holding down steady work.
The papers had his correct birthdate, his employer's name and address and even his job description -- although all the other details, including a recap of the couple's relationship, were wrong.
"The respondent, Sean Malon, has a legal obligation to provide support as he is the biological father of the children," the papers say.
"He is young, healthy and able to work full-time. He is a skilled machinist. He works full-time for Rotoflex International and has worked there for a number of years."
Baffled, he immediately got on the phone to straighten things out. He was briskly rebuffed by social services.
"The woman I talked to gave me her last name and when I asked for her first name, she said 'Miss,' " Malon said.
"The call went downhill from there. She told me. 'We'll see you in court.' "
Determined to fight, Malon got a lawyer and drafted a response, denying he was the father and demanding the city pay for a DNA test, plus his legal fees and expenses.
That matter is set to be heard in court March 17.
"What really bothers me is these papers were addressed to my work," Malon said.
"What's stopping them from picking up the phone?
"After I went to a lawyer, the next day she phoned me back asking for a physical description. I said, 'No, I already spent ($350) on a lawyer. You said see you in court, that's what we'll do.' "
That conversation was the first hint of frailty in the claim against him, but by then he was already paying a lawyer and running up expenses. With his home in Brantford and work an hour away in Mississauga, it's a 272-km roundtrip for Malon to file court papers, not to mention the time off from work.
Then, he got a call from city solicitor Carol Smith, suggesting a possible settlement.
"She said a mistake had been made and they wanted to rectify it," Malon said, adding she offered him $350 for his lawyer.
But, he said, Smith wanted to know why he was naming Toronto Social Services in his request for fees and expenses when she said the city had nothing to do with Gregory's application for support.
"If it's got nothing to do with the city, why are they offering me $350 for my lawyer?" Malon asked.
"I didn't even get an 'I'm sorry.' "
Nor was there any explanation of how the error had been made. When he asked, he was told the matter was covered by privacy legislation.
Smith followed up with a letter to Malon on Feb. 21, in which she said the city only acted on information provided by Christine Gregory and was not "the directing mind of the litigation.
"The action is between you and Christine Gregory," Smith wrote.
"While the City of Toronto did assist Ms. Gregory with her application against you, the City of Toronto did not instigate, control or direct the litigation.
"The City of Toronto cannot be faulted for only doing what it is supposed to do on the information given to it by Ms. Gregory."
That's news to Gregory, who says she never gave any information to social services about where her Sean Malon could be found, nor did she know his birthdate.
"They're wrong. I didn't give them that information," Gregory said yesterday.
"They're the ones that found him, they're the ones that got that information.
"I thought they found the right person but they never let me talk to him, they never gave me a number to see if he's the right guy. They said don't worry about that, just worry about going to court."
'IS THIS A BLACK GUY'
She said all she gave social services was the name Sean Malon and was pleasantly surprised when they said her ex had been tracked down.
"I thought they'd talked to him," she said. "They came back about a month later and said is this a black guy or a white guy? I said it was a black guy and they said it was the wrong person. As soon as they told me (Malon) was a white person I knew it was the wrong guy."
She said she was surprised social services hadn't made any effort to call Malon and confirm his identity before serving the papers.
"I'm trying to call the guy and apologize but it's not my fault," Gregory said.
"They're the ones who found where this guy works. They said 'Don't worry about it. Go to court.'
"Before they go ahead and do this they should make sure. They should call the guy and talk to him to make sure it's the right person."
Malon agrees and says it's beyond him why the city can claim to have no involvement even though his notice came on city letterhead.
Smith declined to comment yesterday because the case is before the courts.
"I'm pretty pissed," Malon said. "They need to change their procedures.
"I'm a single father myself raising kids and they pull this name out without any investigation whatsoever, not even contacting me and asking if we can settle out of court for child support or whatever."
Despite that, he said he's still weighing whether he'll accept the city's offer of $350. He's not sure he has the time or energy to fight a Goliath the size of Toronto, even if it means swallowing the $800 in lost wages and other expenses he has meticulously listed.
At the bottom of the list, he's added one more item:
"Stress -- priceless."