That Schiavo's attitude and actions changed as soon as the money from the malpractice suit was in the bank was not lost on Pearse.
"From that point forward, the ward's husband has isolated the ward from her parents, has on at least one occasion refused to consent for the ward to be treated for an infection, and, ultimately, four years later, has filed the instant petition for the withdrawal of life support on the basis of evidence apparently known only to him which could have been asserted at any time during the ward's illness," he said.
"Since there is no corroborative evidence of the ward's intentions, and since the only witness claiming to have such evidence is the one person who will realize a direct and substantial financial benefit from the ward's death, the undersigned guardian ad litem is of the opinion that the evidence of the ward's intentions developed by the investigation, does not meet the clear and convincing standard."
Charging Pearse was "biased" towards Schiavo, Felos promptly had Pearse removed as guardian ad litem. No one was appointed in his place.
By the time the case came to trial in Jan. 2000, Schiavo had found two witnesses to corroborate his version of Terri's wishes: Scott Schiavo, his brother, and Joan Schiavo, a sister-in-law.
Greer accepted their testimony as "creditable and reliable." Not as good as "clear and convincing," but apparently close enough.
But they did not appeal it to the United States Supreme Court where they always have said the wanted "clear and convincing" evidence.