If it is a fact that the boy does not qualify as his father's dependent, then the EIC exception DOES apply in this case. Your friend can claim EIC, even though the child is not his dependent. Turbo tax claiming the son as qualifying child for the Earned income credit is correct.
I think the confusion is that the rest of us are not convinced that the facts justify him not claiming the dependent. Or stating that another way, the facts do not support the boy claiming himself.
"The dad choose not support his son for 6 months" does prove the support question. It goes by the total dollar amount spent for the whole year. We know (or think we know) the boy spent less than $10K on his own support. The dad probably spent more than that.
The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf The support value of the home, provide by the father, for 8 months, is the fair market rental value + utilities and other expenses, divided by the number of occupants.
