Court says legal father, not biological dad, should sue on behalf of dead son's estate
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Staff WriterFebruary 05, 2007 10:17 AMA recent article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that the biological father of a boy who was shot and killed by a Delray Beach police officer has no right to sue on behalf of the 16-year-old's estate, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday.
In affirming an earlier ruling that Kenneth Miller should be considered Jerrod Miller's legal father, the court also took a swipe at Terry Glover, the biological father who was attempting to be appointed personal representative of the estate.
"Glover stated that he knew of his probable fatherhood shortly after the children were born yet failed to take any action to declare his parenthood or to develop any relationship with the children until after Jerrod's death," the ruling said. "What is more, Glover allowed another man to be a `father' to his children and to be obligated to pay child support for both boys for 11 years."
Glover did not raise the twins and saw them on a limited basis, but he now has a solid relationship with Jerrod's twin brother, Sherrod, he said Wednesday. Sherrod Miller, now 18, recently moved into Glover's Orlando apartment.
"This boy has been through a lot," Glover said.
A rookie Delray Beach police officer shot Jerrod Miller in the head as the unlicensed teen drove his uncle's car on the breezeway of the Delray Full Service Center during a school dance in February 2005.
Several months after Jerrod's death, Glover tried to claim paternity. The twins' mother died in 2003, and under Florida law, the legal heir would be their father. A court-ordered DNA test showed Glover was the biological father.
But the appeals court was not swayed by the DNA, ruling that an earlier paternity judgment naming Miller the father should stand.
"Miller is Jerrod's father in the eyes of the law, regardless of the results of DNA testing," the ruling said.
Miller signed the boys' birth certificates and raised the boys as his own, going to sporting events with them, disciplining them and talking to them about girls, the appeals court said.
Patrick Cousins, Glover's attorney, said he was disheartened by the court's ruling and is evaluating whether to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court or ask for a rehearing.
"We worked very hard to secure the release of that DNA test," Cousins said. "Then after going through that ... we finally found the truth. Now getting this decision gives us pause."
He added that he doesn't know where the judges got some of their facts, noting that the information about Miller signing the birth certificates was not even in evidence and that he was not the father figure they portrayed. Miller never shared the same address as the boys, Cousins said.
Miller's attorney, T.J. Cunningham, said Willie Gary would file a wrongful-death lawsuit as soon as Miller is formally appointed personal representative of the estate. Gary, a high-profile Stuart attorney, previously notified Delray Beach that the estate would settle the case for $7.5 million.
Cunningham said he was elated by Wednesday's ruling.
"This was never about Kenneth Miller," he said. "It was for the siblings. The siblings are really taking the death of Jerrod very, very hard. He wants to make sure Jerrod's siblings are taken care of."
That's also Terry Glover's goal, Glover said. Both he and Cousins are mystified by Wednesday's ruling, wondering how it will affect the rights of other natural fathers.
"It's crazy," Glover said. "They're telling people that blood means nothing. I've never heard of that."