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Court grants hearing in Biological father will argue for legitimacy By Stephen Gurr Staff Writer An unwed father fighting to prevent his 1-year-old daughter from being put up for adoption by the child’s mother will be granted a legitimation hearing, a Forsyth County judge ruled Thursday. Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bagley denied a motion by the mother, Marissa Boylan, asking for a dismissal of a petition for legitimation filed by the father, George McCormick. McCormick, who has never met his daughter, has waged an ongoing legal battle to prevent Boylan from putting the child up for adoption with an uniden¬ tified Forsyth County couple who are caring for the child. During a hearing on the motion to dismiss held last week, Boylan’s attorney,* Josey Redwine, argued that McCormick’s petition for legiti¬ mation should be dismissed because he already had filed and voluntarily withdrawn four prior legitimacy petitions. Under Georgia law, a civil action cannot be brought again after it has been voluntarily withdrawn twice. McCormick’s counsel argued that the two prior Forsyth County petitions didn’t count against him because they were mistakenly filed when McCormick saw a legal adver¬ tisement for the surrender of parental rights for a different child that was not his. In his ruling, Bagley found other reasons not to grant the dismissal. The judge, after noting the “the complex and tortured pro¬ cedural history of these cases,” L00KING TO CUT YOUR TAXES AND HELP INCREASE YOUR INCOME? TAX-FREE MUNICIPAL BONDS* MAY HELP. *Bonds may be subject to state, local or the alternative minimum tax. Call or visit your local Investment representative today. Rex E. Abbott, AAMS, CFP® Investment Representative 911-C Cumming, Bus. 770-844-1000 Market GA 30041 Place, Toll-free Suite 12 800-755-7743 £I Toll-free fax 888-805-0817 __ Edward Jones www.edwardjones.com MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING Member SIPC QAMd Qlnfimifrd Your Backyard Birdfeeding Specialist ANNIVER! - / 07 * s 'v Y * >r V if v'" m % ▼ *• Wtm - it . * % , i Located south of on the GA400, Outlet Mall 1/4 next mile to Outside World. (706) 429-0077 qAM<TtofcqihM«r www.wbu.com ■V • said that Boylan and her legal counsel were never properly served with McCormick’s pre vious legitimacy petitions, ren dering them null and void. He also expressed doubt that one of McCormick’s attorneys had the authority to withdraw a petition because she never made a for mal entry of appearance as his new lawyer. (Boylan) was never proper ly served ... and even if service was perfected, (McCormick’s attomey Laurene) Cuvillier did not have the authority to execute the voluntary dismissal in the second petition to legitimate," Bagley wrote. Reached Friday, Redwine said she was “flabbergasted” by the ruling. I think it’s highly ironic that the errors made by his counsel served to deprive my client of her rights,” Redwine said. She also disputed Bagley’s finding that her client had never been served with the previous petitions, an issue that was not raised in last week’s court hear ing. “Had we known proof of service was going to be an issue, we would have provided documentation,” Redwine said, adding that she was consulting with her client on whether to file a motion for reconsideration with the court. Jeffrey Bunch, one of two attorneys representing McCormick, said Bagley ruled in his client’s favor “for very technical reasons.” “The judge ruled he’s enti¬ tled to his day in court, which is simply wonderful for Mr. McCormick,” Bunch said. The battle is far from over, however. In the legitimacy hear ing, Boylan’s attorney and an attorney for the prospective adoptive parents are expected to challenge McCormick’s fitness to be a father and argue that adoption is in the best interest of the child, referred to in court proceedings as “BGB.” “All (this week’s ruling) means is we don’t get the short, technical victory,” Redwine said. “There will still be a hear ing on the merits, and all the facts of this relationship between this 19-year-old girl and this 30-year-old man — the whole saga — will be present ed. , No date has been set for a legitimacy hearing, and sched uling may depend on whether Redwine asks Bagley to recon sider his ruling, \ ^ ve ri7on wireless ^ . 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Limited time offers. ©2006 Verizon Wireless. v FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Sunday, January 15,2006 no line, now ByToddTruelove Staff Writer Georgia Transmission Corp. (GTC) cannot build a high-voltage power line connecting a substation in Cumming to one in northeast Cherokee County until the state Supreme Court rules on a local ordinance regulating utility lines. The ruling will have statewide implications on a local government’s ability to control the placement of utility lines through zoning powers. Forsyth County Superior Court Judge David L. Dickinson on Thursday ruled in favor of tire Forsyth County government’s request to stay a portion of a former court ruling last summer that the county’s ordinance was “unconstitutional.” Dickinson’s former ruling, favoring GTC, included a provision that the county could not enforce its ordinance: The local government wanted to delay that portion of the ruling until a higher court rules on the county’s appeal. “What I am intending to prohibit by this | rul¬ ing] is any construction by the placement of poles, wiring, or any other physical structure on any property,” said Dickinson, according to court records. “We’re going to keep it right where it is until such time as the Supreme Court addresses the appeal as filed by Forsyth County and the cross¬ appeal that has been filed by Georgia Transmission,” he said. GTC plans to construct a 230,000-volt trans¬ mission line across 20 miles in Forsyth and PAGE 5A Cherokee counties to connect the two substa¬ tions. Officials from the power company have said the line is needed by 2007 for continued reliable power service to Forsyth County resi¬ dents. Much of the line runs along roadways includ¬ ing Hwy. 369. GTC has filed for permits to build beside the county roads. However, the Engineering Department has denied those permits. In February, the county will conduct a public hearing for GTC concerning those right-of-way easements. Also, on Feb. 27 the Georgia Supreme Court will hear arguments relating to the county’s appeal of Dickinson’s summer rul ing. The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners attempted to regulate utility lines through their zoning powers. However, Dickinson ruled the ordinance was unconstitu¬ tional because, with the possibility of denying a power line, it affected utility companies’ power of eminent domain granted in the state constitu¬ tion to pay for land to build a utility line, regard¬ less of whether the owner wants to sell it. The county government appealed that ruling, and GTC also has requested the state rule on whether local governments can regulate power lines at all through zoning codes. Dickinson said, “I’m anticipating that that oral argument will be heard [by the Supreme Court] on [Feb.] 27, and a ruling will be issued shortly thereafter.”