Scoggins v. Medlock, 381 S.W.3d 781

Trayvon Scoggins died June 9, 2006 at under 15 months old; Evon Medlock was sole caregiver from birth to death.
Scoggins was incarcerated at the time of Trayvon's birth and death; prior to incarceration, he lived with Medlock and they had two children, Trayvon and Tremaya.
Medlock petitioned to be appointed special administratrix of Trayvon's estate and asserted Scoggins was Trayvon's biological father, but noted he was in prison and limited claims were possible unless paternity was established.
Medlock filed a wrongful-death and survival action arising from Trayvon's death; a settlement offer of $862,500 was made and later addressed at a hearing where Scoggins was appointed counsel over Medlock's objection.
On March 12, 2009 Scoggins filed a petition to establish paternity of Trayvon (illegitimate child) and on July 2, 2009 requested DNA testing under Ark. Code Ann. § 9-10-108.
The circuit court granted Medlock’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction; the Arkansas Court of Appeals dismissed as moot; the Arkansas Supreme Court granted review and affirmed the dismissal, with a dissent.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Scoggins has standing to establish paternity of a deceased child under the paternity statutes	Scoggins argues paternity may be established and he may participate as a beneficiary under the wrongful-death statute.	Medlock contends the statute does not authorize paternity determination for a deceased child and thus the court lacks jurisdiction.	Dismissal affirmed; no provision to establish paternity when the child is deceased.
Whether Ark. Code Ann. § 9-10-108 permits DNA testing when the father or mother is deceased	DNA testing is authorized to establish paternity when one parent is deceased.	Testing is authorized for deceased mother or father, not for a deceased child.	Statute allows testing when parent is deceased; No provision for testing to establish paternity of a deceased child.

Roque v. Frederick, 272 Ark. 392 (1981) (paternity/beneficiary issues under wrongful-death context)
Lucas v. Handcock, 266 Ark. 142 (1979) (paternity determined in heirship context; posthumous considerations)
Ludwig v. Bella Casa, LLC, 2010 Ark. 435 (2010) (statutory interpretation and public policy; avoid reading words into statute)
Clemmons v. Office of Child Support Enforcement, 345 Ark. 330 (2001) (plain-language approach to statutory meaning)
Potter v. City of Tontitown, 371 Ark. 200 (2007) (avoid reading superfluous words into statutes)
Brown v. Kelton, 2011 Ark. 93 (2011) (statutory construction principles)
Dachs v. Hendrix, 2009 Ark. 542 (2009) (statutory construction and interpretation framework)
Racine v. Nelson, 2011 Ark. 50 (2011) (interpretation of statutes; expressio unius est exclusio alterius principle)