Kline v. Eyrich

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that there is a single cause of action, the one that the decedent would have had, had he survived
• noting that the wrongful death statutes “prescribe the priority of those who may assert the action on behalf of the decedent and any other beneficiaries”
• noting that the statute delineates the priority of beneficiaries because multiple actions cannot be brought
• stating that although the living beneficiaries of the action may seek recovery for their own losses in addition to the losses of the decedent, the right of action remains one that is single and indivisible
• “courts typically apply [the common fund doctrine] ... only against the fund’s ‘passive’ beneficiaries, who are typically those beneficiaries not employing separate counsel to represent their own interests.”
• “Although the surviving spouse may consent to other assistance in litigating or settling the wrongful death claim, he or she is under no statutory obligation to do so.”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).