WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A former caddie for LPGA golfer Jackie Gallagher-Smith dropped his lawsuit accusing the golfer of seducing him to get her pregnant.
Gary Robinson, 27, said that he dismissed the lawsuit when he found out he would not be able to have contact with the boy he thinks is his son. The child was born to Gallagher-Smith and her husband Edward Smith in 2004.
Robinson said that he plans to focus on advocating paternity rights, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported for Saturday’s editions.
“He does believe that he is the father of this child and he would like to see a change in parental rights,” said Robinson’s attorney Cathy Lively.
He had sued for an unspecified sum, claiming fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit was filed in circuit court in West Palm Beach.
The lawsuit said, Gallagher-Smith, 37, used him as “an unwitting sperm donor.”
Florida law says a child born into a marriage is deemed to be a result of the marriage. A DNA test can’t be forced and Robinson has no legal claim to the child, Lively said.
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Robinson began caddying for Gallagher-Smith in February 2004, and soon thereafter began receiving advances from her, he said. Robinson said he was in an emotional state after recently ending a long-term relationship with a girlfriend, and he passed off some early advances as “innocent playful activity.”
The relationship became sexual about two months later and the two would sometimes engage in unprotected sex, he said.
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Under pressure from Robinson, Gallagher-Smith eventually told her husband and said he forgave them, and Robinson continued to caddie for her until end of the tour season in October, Robinson said.
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