The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.
An heir is not categorically precluded from intervening in a wrongful death suit brought by the personal representative of the decedent's estate. So long as the heir meets the criteria for intervention, including inadequate representation of his interest by the existing parties, she should be permitted to intervene to protect those interests. By intervening, the heir does not file a… Read More
The trial court in San Francisco abused its discretion in denying defendant's motion to transfer this wrongful death case to San Diego where the accident occurred and most witnesses reside. The fact that the Legislature authorized remote trial testimony through July 2023 is not a favor that the trial court could properly invoke to ignore the fact that most witnesses… Read More
A wrongful death claim under federal maritime law accrues on or after the date of death, not earlier when the victim (soon-to-be deceased) learns of his illness or injury. The statute accrues on date of discovery of the illness, however, on claims under survival statutes that abrogate the common law rule that tort claims died with the plaintiff. Where the… Read More
