S. HIRAM HENDERSON, AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF ALFRED F. FLETCHER, DECEASED, APPELLANT,
v.
INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA ET AL., APPELLEES
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The court addressed whether adult, non-dependent children of a deceased person could recover damages for loss of the decedent's net accumulations under Florida's Wrongful Death Act. The court held that such children are not "survivors" under the statute and therefore cannot recover these damages.
Adult children who are not dependent upon the decedent are not "survivors" under Section 768.18(1) and therefore cannot recover damages for loss of net accumulations under Section 768.21(6)(a). The statute's restriction does not violate the Florida Constitution.
[1] Adult children who are not dependent on the decedent are not "survivors" for the purpose of recovering damages under the Florida Wrongful Death Act.
[2] The definition of "survivors" in Section 768.18(1), Florida Statutes, limits recovery under the Wrongful Death Act to the decedent's spouse, minor children, parents, and…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The adult children of a decedent who are not dependent upon the decedent are not "survivors" under Section 768.18(1); therefore they are not "survivors" under Section 768.21(6)(a).”
Establishes the court's core holding that statutory definition of "survivors" excludes non-dependent adult children
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAlfred Fletcher and his wife were killed in an automobile accident. At the time of his death, Fletcher had four adult children, none of whom were depe…
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DOWNEY, Judge.
These appeals involve a construction of the Florida Wrongful Death Act.
Alfred Fletcher and his wife were killed in an automobile accident. At the time of his death he had four adult children, none of whom were dependent upon him. The personal representative of Mr. Fletcher’s estate, appellant S. Hiram Henderson, on behalf of the four children filed suit against appellee, claiming, among others, damages for loss of decedent’s net accumulations as provided for in Section 768.21(6)(a), Florida Statutes (1975).
The trial court held that, since the children in question were not dependent minors, they were not persons who could recover damages under Section 768.21(6)(a), and the court granted a partial summary judgment for appellee eliminating that element of damages from appellant’s claim.
Appellant contends that the use of the terms “lineal descendants” in Section 768.21(6)(a) indicates an intention not to restrict the beneficiaries of that section to minor children. He further argues that, if that section precludes all children, except minors, from recovering damages, it is unconstitutional. Appellee on the other hand supports the trial court’s ruling by pointing to Section 768.18(1), Florida Statutes (1975), which defines “survivors” as used in the Florida Wrongful Death Act (Sections 768.-16-768.27) as follows:
“(1) ‘Survivors’ means the decedent’s spouse, minor children, parents, and, when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services, any blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters. It includes the illegitimate child of a mother, but not the illegitimate child of the father unless the father has recognized a responsibility for the child’s support.”
Section 768.21(6)(a) in pertinent part provides:
“(6) The decedent’s personal representative may recover for the decedent’s estate the following:
“(a) Loss of earnings of the deceased from the date of injury to the date of death, less lost support of survivors excluding contributions in kind, with inter est. If the decedent’s survivors include a surviving spouse or lineal descendants, loss of net accumulations beyond death and reduced to present value may also be recovered.”
The adult children of a decedent who are not dependent upon the decedent are not “survivors” under Section 768.18(1); therefore they are not “survivors” under Section 768.21(6)(a). Hence the trial court correctly ruled that the appellant could not recover “net accumulations” (as that term is defined in Section 768.18(5)) on behalf of the decedent’s adult children.
Appellant’s argument attacking the constitutionality of Section 768.21(6)(a) is adequately answered by the Supreme Court’s holding in White v. Clayton, 323 So. 2d 573 (Fla.1971).
Accordingly, the interlocutory appeal in Case No. 76-2164 is dismissed. The judgment appealed from in the plenary appeal in Case No. 76-2165 is affirmed.
CASE NO. 76-2164 DISMISSED; CASE NO. 76-2165 AFFIRMED.
CROSS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Vildibill v. Johnson, 492 So. 2d 1047 (Fla. 1986)…3 (Fla.1975) (sisters of adult decedent may not recover loss of net accumulations through the estate); Capiello v. Goodnight, 357 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 2d DCA), appeal dismissed, 365 So. 2d 712 (Fla.1978); Henderson v. Insurance Company of North America, 347 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977) (adult non-dependent children of decedent may not recover loss of net accumulations through the estate); Bassett v. Merlin Inc., 304 So. 2d 543 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974), aff'd, 335 So. 2d 273 (Fla.1976) (parents of adult decedent may n…
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Univ. OF Miami v. Wilson, 948 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)…th, it is questionable whether Wilson is a "surviv- or” within the meaning of the Wrongful Death Act for damage recovery purposes. § 768.18, Fla. Stat. (2002)("Minor -children means children under 25 years of age.”); Henderson v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 347 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)("[A]dult children of a decedent who are not dependent upon the decedent are not ‘survivors’ under section 768.18(1).”). Salmon was twenty-two at the time of her mother's death. . Under Section 733.301 of the Florida Statutes, th…
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Stewart v. I.B. Price, M.D., 718 So. 2d 205 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)….1981). [*210] Florida’s wrongful death act was found constitutional even though it provided no general right of recovery to adult non-dependent children of persons subject to wrongful death of any cause. Henderson v. Insurance Co. of North America, 347 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); and Capiello v. Goodnight, 357 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). We find no constitutional barrier to the legislature’s subsequent limited grant of the right to recover damages for pain and suffering to adult, non-dependent childre…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- White v. Clayton, 323 So. 2d 573 (Fla. 1975)