Dad's $130 Million Lawsuit, Adoption at Center of Suit: Father Demands His Rights
An unwed father whose son was given up for adoption by his birth mother is suing several agencies he alleges conspired to rob him of his biological rights as a father for $130 million. The Utah man hopes to bring attention to the lack of rights birth fathers seemingly have as well as get his son, now 3, back.
The suit was filed Friday in the United States District Court of Utah and alleges that Whitney Pettersson worked with a couple to deny Jake Strickland parental rights and adopt the child before Strickland had the opportunity to be with him.
Strickland and Pettersson met in 2009 and became involved even though Pettersson was married at the time. She soon became pregnant, and under Utah law, her husband was declared the legal father of the boy known as "Baby Jack." Strickland told Pettersson he would file with the putative father registry in an attempt to show that he is the true, biological father of the child.
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He never filed and alleges that Pettersson warned him that she "would view it as an act of distrust" and keep Jack away from him. "I don't know if it was done as an act of vindictiveness," Stickland's attorney, Wes Hutchins, told NBC.
Strickland did not know that Pettersson gave birth to Jack until after the boy had already been given up for adoption. He alleges that Pettersson and a host of adoption agencies, as well as the adoptive parents, worked together to keep him away from the child until the adoption was final.
He is now seeking to gain parental custody of the child, and that case is under review. Strickland is also suing for $30 million for the loss of relationship with his son and $100 million to help ensure that this does not happen to other men.
"Under the Utah Adoption Act you can commit fraud and it is not a basis to overturn an otherwise illegal adoption, you can sue for damages. So you can't get your child back if there's a fraudulent adoption, but you can get money," Hutchins told Deseret News.
Jack just turned 3, and Strickland's family gathered around a cake at their own home and sang "Happy Birthday" to the absent boy.
"It's pulling him apart. They still think about him even though they don't have contact," Hutchins explained.
