A groom, whose bride tragically died on their wedding night due to a suspected drunk driver in South Carolina, is now locked in a legal battle with his mother-in-law over control of his late wife’s estate.
Lisa Miller, the mum of 34-year-old Samantha Miller, is even challenging the validity of her daughter’s brief marriage to Aric Hutchinson, according to the Post and Courier.
The newlywed was killed in April when their golf cart was hit as they left their Folly Beach wedding reception.
Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, from New Jersey, admitted to police she had consumed tequila and beer about an hour before the horrifying collision on April 28.
She allegedly crashed her grey Toyota rental into the couple’s golf cart at 65 mph double the legal limit on the island near Charleston.
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Months after the heartbreaking incident, Lisa Miller filed a petition to remove Hutchinson as the personal representative of her daughter’s estate.
She believes her daughter would have wanted her to receive a share of the inheritance.
Miller told the newspaper: “Aric and I agreed several times that Sam would want us to do everything together given we’re the two most important people in her life.
“I never wanted to challenge the validity of the marriage. I never wanted to dishonour Sam. But I feel like Aric is dishonouring my daughter in going against her wishes.”
Hutchinson’s lawyer told the paper that his client has been “more than generous” with his mother-in-law.
“She has repaid him by threatening to bring a frivolous challenge to the validity of his marriage to Sam,” said Patrick Wooten, the attorney. “One would hope that Ms Miller would have too much respect for her own daughter to do that.”
After initially praising her son-in-law following her daughter’s death, Miller expressed concern at how quickly Hutchison seemed to be trying to profit from the tragedy.
His lawyers stated that he has offered Miller half of any money won in a wrongful death lawsuit if she stopped questioning the legitimacy of the marriage.
“Aric has made this settlement offer not because Lisa Miller had a valid legal claim – she does not – but rather because he is a generous person and, of course, would prefer to avoid painful, public litigation over the validity of his marriage to Sam,” Wooten explained.
Miller’s lawyer, Jerry Meechan, claimed her “main reason to intervene is to protect the Estate of Samantha Miller and all of its rightful heirs. There is no reason to rush the process and cloak [it] in secrecy,” he said. “This was a money grab from minute one.”
Komoroski faces charges of reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of felony driving under the influence.
A wrongful death lawsuit names her and four bars accused of over-serving Komoroski on the night she allegedly drove drunk.
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