WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A wealthy Florida polo club founder has adopted his adult girlfriend as part of a legal battle stemming from a fatal 2010 car crash.
Court records show International Polo Club Palm Beach founder John Goodman legally adopted 42-year-old Heather Laruso Hutchins. Hutchins says the couple has been dating since 2009.
Attorneys for the family of a man killed in the car crash tell the Palm Beach Post (http://bit.ly/xzTrHb) the adoption is an attempt by Goodman to shield assets in a trust from potential lawsuit damages. Goodman's lawyer says it's aimed at ensuring the future stability of his assets.
Goodman also faces criminal DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and other charges in the crash that killed 23-year-old Scott Patrick Wilson. Goodman has pleaded not guilty. The criminal trial is March 6.
___
Information from: The Palm Beach Post, http://www.pbpost.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Related Articles
- Bonita firefighter resuscitates son after near-drowning
- Cape council to consider widening Pine Island Road
- Woman attacked in road rage incident with bottle of milk
- SWAT standoff in Port Charlotte neighborhood
- Chinese company to buy AMC movie theaters, companies
- Candidate forum spotlights SWFL congressional race
- Naples beachgoers are on alert after string of car break-ins
- Sutton traded again, sent from Pirates to Rays
- Neighbors detail how deputies rescued missing Tampa woman.
- 50-acre fire burning in Immokalee