v. Spalding Rehabilitation

Citations

• 2019 COA 93

Syllabus

Ann and Jim Ferguson adopted 25-year-old Marty in 1995. Jim predeceased Ann, who died after being examined or treated by defendants. Marty brought a wrongful death lawsuit against Ann's medical providers. Defendants moved to dismiss under CRCP 12(b)(5), contending that Marty lacks standing to sue because an adult adoptee isn't an heir within the meaning of the Wrongful Death Act (WDA). The district court converted the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment and granted the motion. On appeal, Marty argued that the district court erred in finding that as an adult adoptee, she's not an heir and doesn't have standing to sue under the WDA. The WDA provides that in the second year after the death of a person, the deceased's heirs may sue to recover on behalf of a decedent who died from an injury caused by another's negligence. The Court of Appeals concluded that an adult adoptee is a lineal descendant of a decedent, and therefore an heir, so Marty is entitled to sue under the WDA. Therefore, the district court erred in dismissing Marty's complaint. The judgment was reversed and the case was remanded.