Summary
The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment denying Curtis Bridges a curtesy interest in proceeds from a wrongful-death settlement involving his deceased wife’s former husband. The court held that the wife did not possess a chose in action relating to the wrongful-death claim because Arkansas law did not give an individual beneficiary an independent right to bring such an action. Although the circuit court gave an incorrect reason, it reached the correct result in denying Bridges’s claim.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Hazel Mae Frazier possessed a chose in action or other property interest in the Merck wrongful-death settlement proceeds at the time of her death.
- Whether Bridges was entitled to a curtesy interest in the settlement proceeds under Arkansas Code Annotated section 28-11-805 or section 28-11-305.
- Whether the circuit court properly granted summary judgment against Bridges.
Holdings
- Frazier did not possess a chose in action regarding the Merck settlement proceeds because Arkansas's wrongful-death statute created no individual cause of action in her as one beneficiary.
- Bridges had no curtesy interest in the Merck wrongful-death settlement proceeds because Frazier never possessed a chose in action or the proceeds at the time of her death.
- Summary judgment for Shields was proper because the undisputed facts established that Bridges had no curtesy interest in the settlement proceeds.
Key quotations
“There is no cause of action for wrongful death created in any individual beneficiary under the wrongful-death statute.” (385 S.W.3d at 179)
“Accordingly, there can be no chose in action in any one individual beneficiary under the wrongful-death statute because the statute does not create a cause of action in any individual beneficiary.” (385 S.W.3d at 180)
“The circuit court found that Ms. Frazier was possessed of a chose in action, which was incorrect as a matter of law. Nevertheless, the circuit court reached the right result in denying Bridges’s claim under the dower and curtesy statute.” (385 S.W.3d at 181)
Factual background
Hazel Mae Frazier's former husband, Elree Frazier, Sr., died after taking Vioxx. After Frazier's death, her child Glen Shields obtained authority to pursue a wrongful-death claim against Merck and secured a $123,846.71 settlement for Elree Frazier's estate. The settlement proceeds were later transferred through Hazel Mae Frazier's estate for distribution to Elree's seven stepchildren. Frazier's surviving husband, Curtis Bridges, claimed that he was entitled to one-third of the proceeds under Arkansas's curtesy statute.
Procedural history
After Hazel Mae Frazier's death, Bridges filed a claim against her estate seeking one-third of a Merck wrongful-death settlement as his curtesy interest. The administrator moved for summary judgment, arguing that Frazier was not seized or possessed of the settlement proceeds when she died. The circuit court granted summary judgment for the administrator, and the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed, although on a different legal reason.