What were the circumstances surrounding the high-profile car crash that resulted in Scott Wilson's death, and what has happened with the case's legal proceedings?: The ashes of the young man killed in the high-profile car crash involving polo magnate John Goodman can't be legally divided among his divorced, feuding parents, a state appeals court has ruled in a decision released Wednesday.
The remains of Scott Wilson are not "property" that can be halved into two equal parts, the three-judge panel at the Fourth District Court of Appeal said, a ruling in favor of Wilson's mother, who opposed the division of her son's ashes on religious grounds.
The decision cited debate about human remains dating back to the 1700s, prior cases in Florida, and the state's existing legislation. But the court's decision, quoting the words of a fellow judge from a similar case in 2005, couldn't ignore the sheer emotion of the case.
"It is a sorrowful matter to have relatives disputing in court over the remains of the deceased," Judge Martha Warner wrote. "In this case in particular, there is no solution that will bring peace to all parties."
The court also said the "sensitive policy issue" — whether remains could be treated the same as a body, or considered property — would be best left to the Florida legislature to decide.
Scott Wilson, of Wellington, was 23 when he died on Feb. 12, 2010. That night, he was driving his Hyundai Sonata at the intersection of 120th Avenue and Lake Worth Road, when a Bentley driven by Goodman sped through a stop sign, striking the Sonata, according to trial evidence. Wilson's car was pushed into a canal and he died.
And while the Goodman case has been winding its way through the courts, so too has the legal fight between Scott Wilson's parents over their son's remains.
The decision offers a general summary of the circumstances, explaining that William Wilson Jr., Scott's father, and Lili Wilson, Scott's mother, were divorced at the time of their son's death.
While they had agreed to cremate Scott, they couldn't agree on how to distribute Scott's ashes, the court noted. The young man didn't leave a will or any instructions on how to treat his remains. Meanwhile the ashes remained in an urn at a Royal Palm Beach funeral home.
Lili Wilson wanted to bury her son's remains in West Palm Beach, where Scott had spent his entire life moving away to study engineering at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Scott's father sought to bury his son's ashes in a family plot in Blue Ridge, Ga., a place that Scott had visited many times in his youth.
In his efforts to have the remains legally divided, William Wilson Jr. asked a court to deem the ashes property so that they could then be partitioned under the probate code, the appeals court decision states. His ex-wife opposed such a move.
Ultimately, the lower court disagreed with William Wilson's property argument and denied the petition. The court then issued an ultimatum: find a way to dispose of the remains in 30 days or the court would appoint somebody to do it instead. Wilson's father then brought the case to the appeals court, which resulted in Wednesday's decision.
It's likely that the case will now go back to the lower court.
Lili Wilson's attorney, Kristina Pett, declined to comment, citing her client's wishes.
William Wilson's lawyer, Joy Bartmon, said she was disappointed with the decision.
"This opinion does not guide the trial court in the determination to be made," she said in an email. "Instead, what will occur when the decision as to the ashes goes back to the trial court, is what I wanted to avoid. The final resting place for this young man may be left to the discretion of an administrator who never knew him."
As for Goodman, a jury convicted him of driving drunk and causing Wilson's death in March 2012. Last year, however, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath tossed Goodman's conviction and 16-year prison sentence because of juror misconduct.
The 50-year old multimillionaire founder of International Polo Club Palm Beach is on house arrest on $4 million bail while his attorneys continue to challenge evidence in the case before the new trial.
William and Lili Wilson's civil lawsuit against Goodman settled two years ago; the parents evenly split $46 million, before attorney fees, according to court records.
This prompt doesn't seem malicious.