got bastardy? (fiege v. boehm)

I have a new favorite contracts case Fiege v. Boehm

Fiege v. Boehm
Appelate Court of Maryland
1956

Boehm (the unwed woman) alleged that Fiege (the nice guy) and Boehm (the ho) had consensual, premarital sex which resulted in the Boehm (the floosy) becoming pregnant, and that Fiege (the nice guy) acknowledged responsibility and paternity. Boehm (the 35 year old single mother who slept around) gave birth to a female child and Fiege (the guy that got screwed) agreed to pay all her medical, and miscellaneous expenses related to the birth, and to compensate pl for the loss of salary and $10 per week until his daughter reached 21, for child support, in exchange for Boehm filing public bastardy charges against him because he did not want his mother to know that he slept with this chick on the first date and made her prego (it is the south in 1950's afterall) thus resulting in a bastard child (no good).

Fiege finds out that the baby wasn't actually his baby through blood test (new tech at the time). So he stops paying child support (it remindsme of a familiar song..holler we want prenup) so she files a case against him in criminal court for making her child a bastard. Naturally the case was dismissed because you can't make a child that isn't yours a bastard. However, in the civil arena, because she orginally witheld from filing bastardy charges, her forbearance (witholding from something of which you are legally entitled) acted as consideration to the contract, and so this poor guy was humiliated in front of his momma and force to pay child support and hosptial bills for somebody elses baby's daddy.

Why You Say?

Public policy. It's more important for the nice guy to have to pay than to compromise contract law. Indeed.