Hale v. Brown

323 P.2d 955, 84 Ariz. 61, 1958 Ariz. LEXIS 187
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedApril 9, 1958
Docket6212
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 323 P.2d 955 (Hale v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hale v. Brown, 323 P.2d 955, 84 Ariz. 61, 1958 Ariz. LEXIS 187 (Ark. 1958).

Opinions

UDALL, Chief Justice.

The trial court .found, after considering the voluminous record before it — which included the pleadings, depositions, transcripts of two hearings before the Industrial Commission (108 pages), the transcript (45 pages) of a so-called coroner’s inquest held some nine months after death, and several affidavits — that there were no genuine issues as to any material fact to be tried, and hence it held both defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. This appeal followed

A chronological factual statement of the uncontroverted facts is necessary to a proper understanding of the real problem presented by this appeal. On a motion for summary judgment, it is rare that we have as complete a record as is presented in this case.

William Allan Hale died June 23, 1952, while employed at the Hilltop mine near Portal, Arizona, by American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Company (being one of the defendants-appellees to this action), hereinafter referred to as either the “employer” or “American Zinc”. Decedent became ill and died during the lunch hour, shortly after coming to the surface. Death ensued before any medical aid arrived.

Shortly thereafter Dr. M. C. Pugsley, a local retired army doctor who was acquainted with and had treated . decedent during his lifetime, appeared and after making some inquiries and a cursory examination of the body diagnosed the cause of death as .“acute cardiac failure”. T. W. Cooke, Justice of the Peace .and ex officio coroner of the adjacent Bowie precinct, stated he was called on June 23, 1952 by the Sheriff’s office and was told that Coroner [63]*63Martin of Douglas was not available; hence he was requested to get a doctor and go to the Hilltop mine where a man had died. They arrived there about 3:30 p. m. Dr. Farrish examined the body of decedent and concluded he had died of natural causes (cardiac trouble) and that there was no need for an inquest. The doctor issued a permit for removal of the body — making a notation thereon that the body was to be held for an autopsy (this latter point was disputed) — as at that time the mine superintendent indicated the employer would probably want such an examination. Late that afternoon Gordon N. Brown, one of the co-owners of the Page & Brown Mortuary of Douglas (the other defendant-appellee), hereinafter referred to as “Mortuary”, came to the mine for the express purpose of removing the body to the Mortuary. Marian Howard, the 27-year-old married daughter of decedent, who at the time was handling the arrangements, had called Gordon N. Brown and requested that he do so. While at the mine Brown was handed the removal permit issued by Dr. Farrish; The body was removed to the Mortuary and immediately thereafter (at about 7 p. m.), without express authorization from the coroner or any member of decedent’s family, the Mortuary took the preliminary steps in embalming by injecting a preservative fluid. Undertaker Brown admits he had no express authorization to do this but seeks to justify such action by pointing out that it was summertime, decomposition had set in and that customarily in the trade morticians do not bother to obtain authorization from the family to embalm. Upon her examination at the coroner’s inquest Marian Howard stated her brother was present on that occasion and there is no showing that he objected thereto.

Dr. Alessi of Douglas, the Hale family physician, stated he was advised the family wanted a post-mortem examination for the purpose of determining the cause of death, particularly as to whether decedent had suffered gas poisoning. Upon inquiry he found the employer was no longer insisting on an autopsy nor would it pay for same. He advised the family to get a qualified pathologist and was instructed to’ call Dr. George O. Hartman of Tucson, which was done that evening. By the next morning at 8 a. m. there was delivered to-the Mortuary a written authorization, signed by the widow, for such post-mortem examination. At about 5:30 p. m. on June 24th, Dr. Hartman arrived at the Mortuary and in the presence of two local doctors, Dr. Alessi and Dr. Guy B. Atonna,. this specialist performed a routine autopsy and his diagnosis as to cause of death was: 1. coronary occlusion; 2. arteriosclerosis. It manifestly appears that Dr. Hartman made the post-mortem examination completely at the direction of plaintiff and none of the defendants had anything to do with such [64]*64examination. After that the Mortuary completed the embalming without objection on the part of anyone, a funeral was held and the body was buried. The certificate of death dated June 26, 1952 and signed by Dr. Alessi, gives the cause of death as “coronary thrombosis”.

On August 20, 1952 a claim for death benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, A.R.S. § 23-901 et seq. was filed with the Industrial Commission by decedent’s widow and a minor son, on the theory that decedent came to his death as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment. After several hearings the Commission, on November 23, 1953, reaffirmed its previous awards denying compensation. On review we affirmed on the basis of a procedural defect that made the award res judicata. Hale’s Estate v. Industrial Commission, 78 Ariz. 202, 277 P.2d 1014.

An unverified complaint, in the instant case, was filed against defendants on September 29, 1953 by the widow, Delcie L. Hale, and decedent’s three children by a previous marriage — only one of whom was then a minor. It appears from the motion to set aside summary judgment that at the hearing on the motion for summary judgment the court ordered stricken the names of the three children as party plaintiffs, thereby leaving the widow (being the real party in interest) as the sole plaintiff. No assignment of error is predicted upon this ruling. Therefore Delcie .L. Hale will be referred to either as the plaintiff or widow. While there is only one count to the complaint, on the face thereof it does appear to have two elements, (1) a charge of wrongful embalmment against the Mortuary, and (2) that defendants, Mortuary and American Zinc, conspired to embalm the body of decedent in order to remove and suppress evidence as to the cause of death so that plaintiffs would be unable to obtain death benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Law. Actually, as will be shown, the two matters are inextricably entwined. In any event the complaint was held sufficient by the trial court, as against defendants’ separate motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The correctness of that ruling is not an issue to be determined by this appeal. Both answers were in effect general denials. Thereafter defendants made separate motions for summary judgment, and on June 6, 1955 a hearing was had thereon at the conclusion of which both motions were granted. The following day a formal judgment was entered that plaintiff take nothing. This appeal followed.

Plaintiff’s first assignment of error is that the court was without jurisdiction to grant either of the motions for summary judgment because the Mortuary had not complied with the provisions of [65]*65Rules Civil Procedure, Rule 56(c), 16 A. R.S. (then section 21-1212 A.C.A.1939) which required that such a motion, with its supporting affidavits, be filed ten days prior to a hearing thereon. No authority is cited in support of this contention, furthermore this objection is being raised here for the first time.

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Hale v. Brown
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Bluebook (online)
323 P.2d 955, 84 Ariz. 61, 1958 Ariz. LEXIS 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hale-v-brown-ariz-1958.