Son of former VP Joe Biden hires ex-AG to aid in paternity case

FILE — In this 2012 file photo, Hunter Biden waits for the start of his father's debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
FILE — In this 2012 file photo, Hunter Biden waits for the start of his father's debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

The son of former Vice President Joe Biden has hired a former Arkansas attorney general to help him fight a paternity lawsuit in Independence County.

Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat who held the post from 2007 to 2015, filed an entry of appearance Wednesday on behalf of Robert Hunter Biden.

Two other Little Rock attorneys, Bart Calhoun and Jessica Duncan Johnston, filed entries of appearance earlier this week.

The paternity case has been assigned to 16th Judicial Circuit Judge Don McSpadden. No court date has been set.

Lunden Alexis Roberts, 28, filed her petition for paternity and child support against Hunter Biden on May 28, days after he married another woman in California.

The two-page suit states that Roberts and Hunter Biden "were in a relationship" and that "Baby Doe" was born in August 2018 "as a result of that relationship."

The 2014 Arkansas State University graduate, whose attorney said Roberts met Hunter Biden while taking subsequent courses at George Washington University, is asking the court to establish that Hunter Biden, 49, is the baby's biological father.

Hunter Biden has not responded to requests for comment left with his Illinois attorney in June and July. That attorney, George Mesires of Chicago, did not return a phone call Wednesday.

Hunter Biden's Arkansas attorneys declined to comment Wednesday on the case.

According to The New Yorker, Hunter Biden has denied "having sexual relations" with Roberts.

On Monday, Hunter Biden filed an answer in the case, maintaining that he "has not been properly served" with a summons and a copy of the petition.

"The process server attempted to serve the Petition and Summons by delivering such to a non-party at an address where Defendant does not reside," the answer stated.

On July 19, a copy of the documents was left with someone at the West Hollywood, Calif., apartment occupied by Hunter Biden's new wife, Melissa Cohen, according to an affidavit filed by a California process server.

Neighbors have seen the couple at the apartment, and the person answering the door claimed to be related to Cohen, the process server said.

Normally, the court papers are supposed to be delivered personally to a defendant. California allows them to be left "at the person's business, dwelling house" or "usual place of abode" if it is done "in the presence of a competent member of the household or a person apparently in charge of his or her office, place of business, or usual mailing address."

The competent member must be at least 18 years old and must be "informed of the contents" of the documents. The address can't be a post office box. In order for the service to be valid, a separate copy of the documents must be mailed to the place where they were left. "Service of a summons in this manner is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing," the California Code of Civil Procedure states.

Arkansas allows service, in some instances, to a defendant's family members. It also would recognize California service "in any manner" that complies with California law.

Reached by telephone Wednesday, Roberts' attorney, Clint Lancaster, said he wants a hearing so McSpadden can review the matter.

"The other attorneys, thus far, are unwilling to set a hearing date," Lancaster added.

In the filing Monday, Hunter Biden said he lacked enough information "to admit or deny" that the Arkansas court has jurisdiction over the case and that the venue is proper.

He also said he is "without sufficient information to admit or deny the allegations in paragraphs 5 through 12 and therefore denies the same."

Paragraph 5 states that Roberts and Hunter Biden "were in a relationship and a child, Baby Doe (08/2018), was born as a result of that relationship."

McDaniel's time as Arkansas attorney general overlapped with Beau Biden's tenure as attorney general of Delaware, and the two men were friends.

Joe Biden's eldest son died of cancer May 30, 2015.

McDaniel, who is Arkansas' Democratic National Committeeman, has not endorsed Joe Biden's 2020 presidential bid. Instead, he is backing Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, that state's attorney general from 2009 to 2013.

Metro on 08/22/2019

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