Posted 2:52 p.m. The biological father of a 2-year-old boy has filed a lawsuit against the Albuquerque agency he says put his son up for adoption without his permission.

The lawsuit, filed late Monday in state District Court in Albuquerque, charges that Adoptions Plus knew or should have known that Mark Huddleston, 40, was the father of the child but purposely failed to notify him of the existence of his child and failed to obtain his consent to the adoption.

Cynthia Bridges, office manager at Adoptions Plus, said today that neither she nor anyone else in the agency was free to comment on the lawsuit.

Huddleston's lawsuit comes nearly a month after the state Court of Appeals reversed a decision by state District Judge John Pope in Valencia County to terminate Huddleston's parental rights.

According to that opinion, it was not sufficiently proven that Huddleston had abandoned the child after the birth and that his consent was required before the mother proceeded with the adoption.

The appellate court also ruled that Huddleston's actions, or lack of them, before the baby's birth didn't prove that he caused the parent-child relationship to disintegrate.

According to the appellate opinion, the child was the result of a six-month relationship that ended June 2003 between Helen G., an Albuquerque hotel employee, and Huddleston, an account executive for a company that delivered chemicals to the hotel.

Huddleston's lawsuit said that the mother kept her pregnancy a secret and that she "insisted" that he have no further contact with her once the couple split up.

In January 2004, the lawsuit said that Helen contacted the agency to put her unborn son up for adoption and that she identified Huddleston and another man as the possible fathers.

The baby was born Feb. 14, 2004. According to previous court documents, the infant was placed three days later into the adoptive home of Bobby and Rosario Romero.

The family lives in Los Lunas, the lawsuit said.

But Huddleston said he did not know he had fathered a child until he received a notice from the adoption agency three days after the notice date of April 16, 2004, the lawsuits said.

Huddleston, the lawsuit states, immediately called the agency but was told to call back in the morning. That day, he and his wife spoke with Catherine Troy, Adoptions Plus executive director and placement supervisor, in person and were told by her that he had no right to the child, the lawsuit said.

"She said he would never get custody of the child and that the child had been placed in a good home," the lawsuit said. "Ms. Troy also admitted that she never notified Mr. Huddleston about the adoption and termination proceedings."

That same day, Huddleston hired an attorney. Later that month, he filed a paternity suit to contest the adoption.

A DNA test court-ordered in May 2004 was delayed by the Romeros and finally conducted in June 2004; the test indicated that Huddleston was the father, the lawsuit said.

Despite that, the lawsuit said Huddleston was denied visits with and photos of his son until December 2004 when he was allowed limited, supervised visits after the state Children, Youth and Families Department intervened.

Those visits were stopped with Pope's decision to terminate his parental rights on April 14, 2005.

The lawsuit says that as a result of the actions of Adoptions Plus Huddleston has suffered severe emotional pain, distress and anxiety, loss of earnings and substantial financial expenses.

The lawsuit seeks financial compensation of more than $40,000 in legal fees as well as punitive damages.

Huddleston also filed an expedited motion to reinstate visitation and a motion to seek sole parental custody of his child this month.

The adoptive parents have also filed a motion for reconsideration with the Court of Appeals. Their attorney, Hal Atencio, has said the Romeros intend to pursue their fight for legal custody all the way to the state Supreme Court.

The Romeros have said - and both courts have agreed - that Huddleston knew or should have known that he was the father of the child before the child's birth but that he chose to ignore that.

Court records indicate that the biological mother testified that she told Huddleston twice that she was pregnant and he had at least one opportunity to notice her visibly pregnant. A co-worker of the mother's also testified that Huddleston had known of the pregnancy but did not know if the child was his.

Huddleston, court records state, also did not give the mother financial support during her pregnancy.