Barragan v. Superior Court, Pima County

469 P.2d 92, 12 Ariz. App. 200
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJune 29, 1970
Docket2 CA-CIV 825
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 469 P.2d 92 (Barragan v. Superior Court, Pima County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barragan v. Superior Court, Pima County, 469 P.2d 92, 12 Ariz. App. 200 (Ark. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

HOWARD, Chief Judge.

The subject petition for special action challenges the propriety of the trial court’s denial of petitioner’s 1 motion to substitute him as the party plaintiff in a pending superior court action. The appellate court of this state, when circumstances of the case warrant it, may review interlocutory non-appealable orders to prevent wasted judicial effort. Dean v. Superior Court, 84 Ariz. 104, 324 P.2d 764 (1958); Phelps Dodge Corporation v. Superior Court, 7 Ariz.App. 277, 438 P.2d 424 (1968) ; Industrial Commission v. Superior Court, 5 Ariz.App. 100, 423 P.2d 375 (1967).

The essential facts, which are not disputed, are as follows: On or about May 11, 1968, Delia Barragan was killed near Bowie, Arizona, as a result of a collision between the vehicle she was driving and another. Her husband, Jesus Barragan, a passenger in the car, was seriously injured as a result of the accident and subsequently died on July 29, 1969. The Barragans were domiciliaries of the State of Texas and the parents of five minor children.

In January, 1969, a complaint was filed in Pima County Superior Court by the attorney for respondent Acosta, 2 seeking damages from the named defendants for the injuries sustained by Jesus and for the wrongful death of Delia. The caption of the complaint reads as follows:

“JESUS BARRAGAN, by Trinidad B. Acosta, Guardian of the Person and Estate of the said Jesus Barragan; as Administrator of the Estate of DELIA BARRAGAN, deceased, individually and on behalf of GLORIA, JESUS, JR., CARMEN, EDWARD and TRINA, the minor children of DELIA BARRAGAN AND TRINIDAD B. ACOSTA, Guardian of the Estate of JESUS BARRA-GAN, an adult ward, for the wrongful death of DELIA BARRAGAN,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
U-HAUL CO., a foreign corporation, ARCO A, INC., an Arizona corporation, JOHN DOE SAB AN, doing business as SABAN’S U-HAUL RENTALS, THE U-HAUL TRAILER CORPORATION.,
Defendants.”

On September 22, 1969, petitioner filed a motion for substitution of parties, i. e., substitution of himself, individually, as temporary administrator of the Estates of Jesus and Delia Barragan, deceased, and as temporary guardian of the persons and estates of the decedents’ minor children. He additionally requested leave, if substitution was granted, to file an amended complaint to assert a claim for the death of Jesus Bar-ragan.

The trial court was presented with evidence of petitioner’s appointment in Texas as temporary administrator of the decedents’ estates and temporary guardian of the persons and estates of the minor children of the decedents; also, the appointment of Trinidad B. Acosta, sister of Jesus Barragan, as temporary guardian of his estate.

The sole question to be resolved is whether the trial court erred in refusing to substitute the petitioner as plaintiff in the pending lawsuit when it was established *202 that Jesus Barragan had died. This suit was brought to recover for the personal injuries sustained by Jesus Barragan and for the wrongful death of Delia Barragan. A.R.S. § 12-612 provides in part:

“A. An action for wrongful death shall be brought by md in the name of the surviving husband or wife or personal representative of the deceased person for and on behalf of the surviving husband or wife, children or parents, or if none of these survive, on behalf of the decedent’s estate.” [Emphasis supplied.]

Jesus, therefore, as surviving spouse of Delia, was an authorized party plaintiff to sue on behalf of himself and the minor children for her wrongful death.

Jesus having died, we need not concern ourselves with the question of whether Trinidad Acosta, a foreign guardian appointed by the Texas court, could maintain a suit for Jesus’ injuries in this jurisdiction. The general rule appears to be that a foreign guardian may not maintain such suit in a representative capacity without obtaining letters of guardianship in the forum state. See 39 C.J.S. Guardian and Ward §§ 186, 190. Jesus’ death terminated the guardianship and concomitantly, the powers and duties of Trinidad Acosta. 39 C.J.S. Guardian and Ward § 41; 39 Am. Jur.2d Guardian and Ward § 54; See also Annotation 60 A.L.R.2d 964.

In other jurisdictions, it is recognized that two separate and distinct actions may arise where injuries are wrongfully inflicted and death subsequently results therefrom — i. e., (1) a claim for damages in favor of the decedent and his estate under a survival statute analogous to our A.R.S. § 14-477, 6 A.R.S., and (2) a claim conferred by wrongful death statutes for damages to the survivors. See e. g. Hale v. Hale, 426 P.2d 681 (Okl.1967); Landers v. B. F. Goodrich Company, 369 S.W.2d 33 (Tex.1963); Grant v. McAuliffe, 41 Cal.2d 859, 264 P.2d 944, 42 A.L.R.2d 1162 (1953); Martin v. Swift, 258 F.2d 797 (3rd Cir.1958). In this jurisdiction, however, our Supreme Court has stated:

“Some states permit survival of such actions [personal injury], but in this state the legislature has substituted a different remedy — namely a new action [wrongful death] * * Quintero v. Continental Rent-A-Car System, Inc., 105 Ariz. 135, 460 P.2d 189, 190 (1969).

The petitioner’s motion to substitute him as party plaintiff was supported by his affidavit setting forth, inter alia, the fact of his appointment as temporary administrator of the estates of Jesus Barragan and Delia Barragan, deceased, and that Delia and Jesus, domiciliaries of Texas, had died, the former in 1968 and the latter in 1969.

A right of action for wrongful death is purely statutory and the action must be brought in the names of the persons to whom the right is given by statute. Fuentes v. Tucker, 31 Cal.2d 1, 187 P.2d 752 (1947); Nelms v. Bright, 299 S.W.2d 483 (Mo.1957); Whatley v. Dupuy, 178 So.2d 438 (La.App.1965). As previously indicated, Jesus Barragan was a proper party plaintiff to maintain an action for the wrongful death of his deceased spouse, Delia. Upon his death, however, Rule 25(a) (1), as amended, Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, 16 A.R.S., came into play:

“If a party dies and the claim is not thereby extinguished, the court may order substitution of the proper parties.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Katz v. Filandro
739 P.2d 822 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1987)
Gomez v. Leverton
509 P.2d 735 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1973)
Solomon v. Harman
489 P.2d 236 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1971)
Johnson v. Superior Court
483 P.2d 561 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1971)
Barragan v. Superior Court of Pima County
470 P.2d 722 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
469 P.2d 92, 12 Ariz. App. 200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barragan-v-superior-court-pima-county-arizctapp-1970.