[M. O'brien:] A Philadelphia mother has been reunited with her daughter six years after the girl was thought to have died in a fire as an infant. Now yesterday Luz Cuevas was finally able to take her daughter, Delimar, home. She was raised by a woman who is now accused of kidnapping her and setting that fire. Although he was granted joint custody, the girl's biological father feels he's being left out of this whole process. Pedro Vera joins us now from Philadelphia along with his attorney, Michael Luber. Mr. Vera, good to have you with us. Were you able to see your daughter last night?
[Pedro Vera, Delimar Vera's Father:] Pardon me?
[M. O'brien:] Did you see your daughter last night?
[Vera:] No. I no see.
[M. O'brien:] And had you hoped to see her?
[Vera:] Yes.
[M. O'brien:] OK. And can you tell us what Luz told you about whether you could visit with her and when?
[Vera:] She tell me when I see my daughter she say I see your daughter see my daughter but I try to call it to her all night to see my daughter and she never take it up the phone. And I'm very upset at this moment.
[M. O'brien:] Your daughter has been through a difficult ordeal in the past week or so. I believe what Luz says is that she wants to make sure she is not further upset. What do you say to that?
[Vera:] She was fine with me.
[M. O'brien:] And did you have had a chance to see your daughter since all of this became known, right?
[Vera:] Yes.
[M. O'brien:] What was that like? Tell me what was that what that was like.
[Vera:] What? What today about today?
[M. O'brien:] No, when you saw your daughter, a few days ago, tell us what that was like.
[Vera:] It fine. And she called me Daddy, she play with me; everything is fine. And she tell me I love you Daddy, I know you my Daddy and everything is fine.
[M. O'brien:] Mr. Luber, I want to turn it to you for just a moment; what does the law afford Mr. Vera in this case and is he being denied some rights that he is entitled to?
[Michael Luber, Attorney For Pedro Vera:] Well, Miles as you know the court in New Jersey ordered joint legal custody with both parents, my client, and the mother. However, last night when we attempted to call Mrs. Cuevas and I attempted to call her attorney in order that we might be present at this reunion, we were unable to reach either Mrs. Cuevas or her attorney. As a result, at this very important time last night, the young child was deprived of being with her father and mother, only her mother.
[M. O'brien:] I suppose that point would be well taken, though, when Luz says she is concerned about the well being of the child what should be uppermost in everybody's mind here that the reunion that your client would like to see will happen in due course. Isn't that a reasonable thing to request at this point, to go easy on this little girl?
[Luber:] I think the most reasonable course of action would have been for both parents the father and the mother to have been present when custody of the child, Delimar, was turned over last night by New Jersey authorities. In fact, the New Jersey Department of Youth and Family Services ordered was ordered to supply my client with the time and place where custody was transferred. However, when I received that order and attempted to contact Mrs. Cuevas and their attorney, they did not return our calls. As a result, my client was deprived of seeing his daughter last night.
[M. O'brien:] And a final thought from you, Pedro. When do you hope to see your daughter next, then?
[Vera:] Today.
[M. O'brien:] OK.
[Vera:] I supposed to see my daughter today.
[M. O'brien:] All right, we wish you well in hat meeting. All right, Pedro Vera, Michael Luber, thanks very much for being with us from Philadelphia Soledad.
[O'brien:] IN other news, the grades are in the annual consumer reports auto issue hits newsstands today and for the first time in 25 years American automobiles are generally rated more reliable than European vehicles. Here are some of the magazines top 2004 picks. The Ford Focus tops the small sedan category. Consumer Reports says it's well laid out and fun to drive. The Volkswagen Passat and Honda Accord share the top family sedan title. The magazine says they provide an excellent balance of comfort and roominess and handling and the Toyota Sienna is the top rated minivan. The report says it leads the class in comfort and safety. There are plenty of other categories. We're going to talk with someone behind that survey coming up in our final hour at 9 a.m. Eastern Time right here on AMERICAN MORNING. Still to come this morning a nasty battle is brewing between Viacom and the Dish Network with millions of viewers caught in between. Andy Serwer has a look at that as AMERICAN MORNING continues. Stay with us.