Opinion ID: 279403
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Survival Action6

Text: 9 A Pennsylvania Survival Action rests on a different theory of recovery than a cause of action under the Wrongful Death Act. The court below, however, granted appellee's motion to dismiss the Survival Action for essentially the same reasons as it granted the dismissal of the Wrongful Death Action: interspousal immunity and imputed negligence. In doing so, it failed to follow what appears to be the law in Pennsylvania. 10 The appellee argues that the normal incapacity of a minor unemancipated child to sue its parent is not removed by the death of the child. Since a Survival Act allows a cause of action that arises before death to be brought after death by the decedent's representative, the appellee makes a literal argument: Timothy U. Basti couldn't sue his father when alive; thus there was no cause of action existing that survived his death and passed to his personal representative. However, the Pennsylvania courts have ruled that death ends an immunity based on the policy of preserving domestic peace and felicity and hence the cause of action exists, the immunity being merely procedural. Johnson v. Peoples First National Bank & Trust Co., 394 Pa. 116, 145 A.2d 716, 717 (1958). Relying on dicta in Parks v. Parks, 7 supra, appellee argues that the immunity expires only when the person protected by the immunity dies. 8 Appellee points out in support of this position, that no Pennsylvania case has been found which has allowed suit by a deceased unemancipated child's estate against an allegedly negligent living parent. 11 Although this argument may have some merit, we are faced with Pennsylvania cases which suggest that avoidance of collusion is a policy behind inter-family immunity along with the policies of promotion of family unity and avoidance of discord and disturbance stressed by appellee. See e. g., Parks v. Parks, supra, 135 A.2d at 71. If this policy against collusion, for instance, were the most important one for a court to protect, death by either family member, plaintiff or defendant, should arguably cause the same result. 9 12 The arguments based on policy being thus inconclusive, we turn to the existing Pennsylvania appellate court decision which requires the reversal of the lower court's dismissal of the Survival Action in this case. Fisher v. Dye, 386 Pa. 141, 125 A.2d 472, 475 (1956); adopting Burns v. Goldberg, 210 F.2d 646 (3d Cir. 1954). It is noted that in dismissing the Survival Action on the grounds of interspousal immunity and imputed negligence, the District Court pierced Timothy U. Basti's estate and found that his mother was the only interested beneficiary. But unlike the Wrongful Death Action, this cannot be done under the Survival Act, Fisher v. Dye, supra. As our decision in Burns v. Goldberg, supra, 210 F.2d at 650, pointed out, concern over whether the mother, as opposed to creditors of the deceased minor or other parties, will take a share of the child's estate should be resolved in the Orphans Court at the time of distribution, not when deciding whether a decedent's representative may sue a living parent. In a case such as this, the Orphans Court would be an appropriate and available forum for deciding any state policy issues that may exist to prevent a wife-mother to benefit from suing a husband-father over the death of their child. 10 13 The decision of the lower court will be reversed and remanded for proceedings in accordance with the foregoing opinion.