Blanchard v. Tinsman
445 So.2d 149 (1984)
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Rule of Law:
Under Louisiana Civil Code article 2315, the term "surviving" refers to survival in fact, even for a brief moment. If a higher-ranking beneficiary survives the deceased, that beneficiary's right of action is established and immediately excludes all lower-ranking beneficiaries, regardless of the duration or quality of the survival.
Facts:
- Richard T. Tinsman drove a tractor-trailer unit that jackknifed on a highway.
- Tinsman's truck collided with a vehicle driven by Michael Lawrence Blanchard, who had his wife, Cheryl Verret Blanchard, as a passenger.
- Michael died instantly as a result of the collision.
- Cheryl exhibited a sign of life—a heartbeat—for a period of time after Michael's death, though she was unconscious and not breathing.
- Cheryl's heartbeat ceased in the ambulance shortly after the accident, and she was pronounced dead.
- Michael and Cheryl did not have any children.
Procedural Posture:
- William and Sherry Blanchard, the parents of Michael Blanchard, filed a wrongful death and survival action in a Louisiana trial court.
- The defendants filed exceptions of no right of action, arguing that the Blanchards were not the proper parties to bring the suit.
- The trial court sustained the exceptions and dismissed the parents' lawsuit.
- The plaintiffs, William and Sherry Blanchard, appealed the trial court's dismissal to the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.
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Issue:
Under Louisiana Civil Code article 2315, do the parents of a deceased person have a right of action for wrongful death when the deceased's spouse survived him for a brief period, even without regaining consciousness?
Opinions:
Majority - Stoker, Judge
No. Under Louisiana Civil Code article 2315, the parents of a deceased person do not have a right of action for wrongful death when the deceased's spouse survived him, even for a brief period without regaining consciousness. The statutory term "surviving" refers to survival in fact and time, not survival of the accident in a broader sense. Because Cheryl Blanchard showed a sign of life after Michael Blanchard died, she legally survived him. At the moment of Michael's death, the right of action vested in Cheryl as the surviving spouse, the highest-ranking beneficiary under the statute. This vesting immediately and permanently excluded Michael's parents, who are in a lower-ranking class of beneficiaries. When Cheryl subsequently died, her vested right of action passed to her own heirs through inheritance. The court acknowledged the perceived inequity of this result but concluded that it was dictated by the clear language of the statute and that any change must come from the legislature, not the judiciary.
Analysis:
This case establishes a strict and literal interpretation of the beneficiary hierarchy in Louisiana's wrongful death statute. The court's decision solidifies the principle that survivorship is a purely temporal and factual question, where even a momentary survival by a higher-ranking beneficiary is sufficient to vest the right of action and exclude all others. This creates a bright-line rule that can lead to seemingly harsh outcomes in common disaster scenarios, as the right to sue may pass to the heirs of the second-to-die person, leaving the family of the first-to-die person with no legal recourse. The ruling emphasizes judicial restraint, deferring to the legislature to correct any perceived injustices in the statutory scheme.
