Deceased Folly Beach SC bride’s mom and groom in estate feud | News
Months after a Folly Beach bride was killed by an alleged drunken driver in a Lowcountry tragedy that garnered national attention, a rift between the groom and his mother-in-law has devolved into a legal battle over control of the deceased bride’s assets.
The bride’s mother, Lisa Miller, is contesting the validity of her daughter’s hours-old marriage to Aric Hutchinson and has petitioned a probate judge to remove Hutchinson as the personal representative of his wife’s estate, citing “issues of potential fraud” and “conflicts of interests.”
Miller’s attorney has filed, withdrawn and refiled a motion to intervene in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hutchinson on behalf of his deceased wife’s estate in Charleston County’s Court of Common Pleas.
Samantha Miller’s estate is poised to procure a hefty settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit, which names several local bars accused of serving the driver beyond the point of intoxication.
The lawsuit is nearing a settlement with three defendants, court documents indicate.
Hutchinson’s attorneys called Lisa Miller’s motion to intervene “morally questionable” and “legally baseless” in a Dec. 1 memo of opposition. South Carolina law states that when a married person dies without a will, their spouse is entitled to their money and property and has priority in serving as personal representative of their estate.
Lisa Miller’s filings, they argue, are intended to scuttle a financial settlement between Hutchinson and several Folly Beach bars in order to obtain money to which she has no legal right.
“Aric has been more than generous with Lisa Miller — offering her half of the money — and she has repaid him by threatening to bring a frivolous challenge to the validity of his marriage to Sam,” one of Hutchinson’s attorneys, Patrick Wooten, told The Post and Courier.
“One would hope that Ms. Miller would have too much respect for her own daughter to do that,” he added.
Lisa Miller told The Post and Courier that her daughter would have wanted her and Hutchinson to work together as equal partners in the wake of her death, but that Hutchinson’s attorneys have sidelined her.
“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,” she said. “I never wanted to challenge the validity of the marriage. I never wanted to dishonor Sam. But I feel like Aric is dishonoring my daughter in going against her wishes.”
Her attorney, Jerry Meehan, defended his and his client’s actions.
“Our main reason to intervene is to protect the Estate of Samantha Miller and all of its rightful heirs,” Meehan told The Post and Courier in an email. “There is no reason to rush the process and cloak (it) in secrecy if you have nothing to hide.”
“This was a money grab from Minute 1,” he added.
Hutchinson and Samantha Miller exchanged vows April 28 in a ceremony on the Folly Beach shore of the Atlantic Ocean attended by a hundred friends and family. Celebration turned to tragedy as the newlyweds left their nighttime wedding reception just after 10 p.m. in a golf cart accompanied by two of the groom’s family members.
A young woman driving in a Toyota Camry 40 miles over the speed limit on East Ashley Avenue smashed into the rear of the low-speed vehicle, killing the 34-year-old bride at the scene and causing serious injuries to Hutchinson. He was hospitalized with a brain injury and broken bones that required two reconstructive surgeries.
The driver, Jamie Lee Komoroski, was charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of felony driving under the influence. Komoroski will be released from jail on bond in March 2024 if prosecutors have not brought the 26-year-old to trial by then, a judge ordered.
Hutchinson, of Utah, met Miller, of Charlotte, three years before they married. The couple shared an apartment on James Island. The bride’s mother, Lisa Miller, described Hutchinson as the “male version” of her daughter in a Zoom interview with The Post and Courier days after the wedding. She remarked that he “loves so deeply,” and that the couple deserved each other.
Yet a rift soon emerged between son- and mother-in-law.
Wrongful death lawsuit
Lisa Miller told The Post and Courier she was alarmed by the speed at which Hutchinson’s family moved to cash in on the tragedy.
A Charleston County probate judge on May 1 recognized the validity of Hutchinson and Samantha Miller’s marriage. Hutchinson on May 10 became the personal representative of his wife’s estate.
Separately, attorneys for Lisa Miller and Hutchinson met soon after Samantha Miller’s death. Lisa Miller’s attorney suggested he and Hutchinson’s lawyers serve as co-counsel in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The parties disagree over what happened next.
According to Lisa Miller’s attorney, one of Hutchinson’s attorneys, Danny Dalton, said he would consider their proposal — but then blindsided the Millers by filing the wrongful death lawsuit, which he promoted at a press conference on May 17 in downtown Charleston attended by local television stations and The Post and Courier.
The lawsuit names Komoroski and four local bars. The bars are accused of overserving Komoroski beer and tequila on April 28 before Komoroski drove off “in a drunken haze.”
Hutchinson’s attorneys said in their Dec. 1 memo that they declined Meehan’s offer to serve as co-counsel and were subsequently threatened by Miller’s counsel that he would challenge the validity of the marriage and seek to install Miller as the sole representative of the estate.
Lisa Miller and Meehan deny they ever sought to make Lisa Miller the sole representative of her daughter’s estate.
Hutchinson’s attorneys said Hutchinson subsequently offered his mother-in-law half of any recovery in the wrongful death lawsuit in exchange for her to stop pursuing legal challenges to the marriage.
“Aric 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,” the memo states.
Miller’s attorney said his client did not agree to the offer because of concerns over the way it was written and because previous interactions had sown distrust among the parties. Meehan said it was unclear if the 50 percent referred to future settlement rewards or if it referred to half of an amount that Hutchinson’s attorneys believed the estate should be valued at.
Meehan filed a motion to intervene in the wrongful death lawsuit July 26, which he withdrew but then refiled Oct. 31.
‘Issues of potential fraud’
At the heart of Lisa Miller’s attempt to contest the validity of her daughter’s marriage is an affidavit filed in support of the bride and groom’s marriage license that her attorney alleges is fraudulent.
Meehan filed a motion in probate court on July 26 seeking to remove Hutchinson as personal representative of Samantha Miller’s estate. He alleged “the filings and timing of filings related to the Decedent’s estate raise issues of potential fraud … conflicts of interests and other matters that affect the ability of the personal representative to properly fulfill his duties in the administration of the estate.”
Hutchinson’s attorneys called the motion “cryptic” in their Dec. 1 filing and said Meehan has failed to file additional pleadings fleshing out the basis for his argument.
Meehan told the newspaper Dec. 4 that he is currently drafting a memo in support of his motion that will outline his full legal position.
The motion in probate court, which Meehan withdrew but said he plans to refile, introduces the affidavit as an exhibit.
The affidavit was signed by Margaret K. Hutchinson, the groom’s aunt. Hutchinson’s attorneys said Hutchinson’s aunt and uncle, Randall J. Trost, attended their nephew’s wedding on Folly Beach and brought a signed marriage license and certificate to the Charleston County Probate Court Marriage License Division while their nephew was still recovering from his injuries. A clerk provided them additional affidavit forms to fill out.
At the time, the bride had already been pronounced dead, while the groom remained hospitalized. Margaret Hutchinson indicated in the May 1 form that the couple had been living together since their marriage on April 28. Asked in the form how long she had known Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson, she stated 36 years. The bride was 34 years old when she died.
“Why the rush to the Court House to file a false affidavit? Why file the lawsuit weeks later?” Meehan told the newspaper.
Wooten, one of Hutchinson’s attorneys, said he agrees that Hutchinson and Samantha Miller could not have lived together after April 28. He also agreed that Hutchinson’s aunt and uncle could not have known Samantha Miller for 36 years. But he said those points are irrelevant in determining the validity of the marriage. South Carolina’s marriage laws do not require cohabitation.
“That’s just a total distraction,” Wooten said.
Lisa Miller’s attorney withdrew his motion to intervene on Sept. 7. He filed it again on Oct. 31, the same day a settlement approval hearing in the wrongful death lawsuit was supposed to occur.
Hutchinson’s attorneys petitioned Charleston County’s Court of Common Pleas to approve offered settlements by the Crab Shack and the Drop In Bar & Deli, court papers show. The filing also asks the court to accept a settlement offer from Progressive, the deceased’s auto insurance company. Wooten said the parties in the lawsuit postponed the hearing because they were not yet ready to move forward.
Dalton, one of Hutchinson’s attorneys, previously declined to provide The Post and Courier with the amounts of the offered settlements. The hearing has not been rescheduled, according to court records.
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