Millionaire John Goodman is accused of adopting his girlfriend to avoid liability in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Goodman is the founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach who allegedly ran a stop sign and hit a car driven by 23-year-old Scott Patrick Wilson on February 12, 2010. Wilson died in the crash. Blood alcohol tests show Goodman was intoxicated at the time of the accident.
The Palm Beach Post is reporting that Wilson’s family is accusing the mogul of adopting his girlfriend as his legal daughter to shield his financial assets.
Court documents show Goodman, 48, legally adopted 42-year-old Heather Laruso Hutchins on October 13 in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Goodman's attorney Daniel Bachi has released a statement explaining Goodman's legal maneuver to adopt his girlfriend.
"Nothing in this arrangement with Ms. Hutchins is illegal. Everything that has been done by Mr. Goodman was done with the intention to preserve and grow the assets of the Trust for his two minor children, even should he personally be unable to continue his historical role in achieving these goals," says Bachi.
Bachi also says the value of the trust is more than $100 million dollars.
If you would like to read the rest of Bachi's statement click here.
So why wouldn’t he just marry her?
Because Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley, who is presiding over the wrongful death suit, previously ruled that the trust Goodman set up for his two minor children could not be considered when awarding damages in the suit. By making his girlfriend his daughter, she becomes a beneficiary of the trust.
Judge Kelly granted an order disclosing information to the victim’s family regarding Goodman’s adoption, saying, "The events which serve as the grounds for the relief sought by the Plaintiffs border on the surreal and take the Court into a legal twilight zone."
"The Court cannot ignore reality or the practical impact of what Mr. Goodman has now done," said Judge Kelley. "The Defendant has effectively diverted a significant portion of the assets of the children's trust to a person with whom he is intimately involved at a time when his personal assets are largely at risk in this case."
WPEC News is reporting that Florida adoption attorney Charlotte Danciu believes that Goodman’s exploitation of a legal loophole is a violation of Florida’s adoption laws.
Goodman’s civil trial is set for March 27, but he’ll be in court before that.
In addition to the civil suit, Goodman is facing a criminal trial on charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a crash, with a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. That criminal trial is set to begin March 6.
In Session and HLN will be covering the trials, so stay tuned!
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