A recent case discussed the legal position of children in a wrongful death case. In this case a mother died in a car accident. The defendant’s insurance company entered into negotiations with the oldest, adult child of the mother who was killed. No lawsuit was filed. The insurance company tendered/offered the policy limits, and asked if the adult child was the only heir of the deceased mother. The attorney for the adult child, and his client, represented that she was the only heir. The insurance company wanted to make sure there were no other heirs. This was also represented in the settlement agreement, and in declarations made by the adult child. Based on these, the insurance company paid its policy limits to the adult child.
As it turned out, there were other heirs, minor children of the deceased mother, who thereafter did file suit against the defendant. The defendant asserted in the lawsuit that the claim of the minor children was barred under what is called the “one action rule”. This rule says that all heirs of a deceased must be brought before the court in a lawsuit filed for the wrongful death of another. If they are not all before the court, the defendant can move to abate (stop) the lawsuit. Or the plaintiff can join them as a defendant. But all of them must be before the court, as there cannot be a series of lawsuits in a wrongful death action. There can only be one lawsuit.
In this case, there was not an earlier lawsuit. The first case settled before the lawsuit was filed. Therefore this lawsuit by the minor children was not barred by the “one action rule.”
The legal position of children in a wrongful death case is protected by California law, but they will need an experienced personal injury trial attorney to protect their interests. We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our clients and the legal industry and contact us or call 949-305-1400 to speak with Rivers Morrell personally for a free and substantive consultation. There is no cost out of pocket for you or your family as we work on a contingency fee basis.
