Opinion ID: 1997554
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Wrongful Death and Survival Proceeds

Text: Mr. Lewis argues that the trial court erred in ruling on summary judgment that the settlement proceeds from the wrongful death and survival action received by Mrs. Lewis during the marriage are not marital property subject to distribution between the parties on divorce. He contends that settlement proceeds are not property acquired by bequest, devise, or descent within the meaning of D.C.Code § 16-910(a) (1997), which may be assigned under the statute to each party as his or her sole and separate property. The facts underlying this issue are not in dispute. Kathryna Gordon was born to Mrs. Lewis in 1974, and she died on December 20, 1985 at Howard University Hospital. Mr. Lewis concedes that he is not Kathryna's biological father. Mrs. Lewis was appointed personal representative of Kathryna's estate on July 11, 1986 by the Superior Court. She filed a wrongful death and survival action in her individual capacity and as personal representative of her daughter's estate. The case was settled and dismissed with prejudice following Mrs. Lewis' execution of a confidential settlement agreement and general release. The settlement agreement did not allocate the settlement proceeds to any particular claim. The net proceeds of settlement were distributed in accordance with the laws of intestate succession of the District of Columbia. See D.C.Code § 19-308 (1997). Mr. Lewis argues that neither § 12-101 (Survival Act) nor § 16-2701 (Wrongful Death Act) of the D.C.Code are statutes of descent and inheritance. He contends that the rights of action under these statutes are not property interests in the decedent which are subject to inheritance. Therefore, he contends, the proceeds of settlement received by Mrs. Lewis constitute property acquired by her during the marriage which is subject to distribution under D.C.Code § 16-910(b). The distribution of property in a divorce action brought in the District of Columbia is governed by D.C.Code § 16-910. Absent a valid ante-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement or a decree of legal separation disposing of property, the court must assign to each party his or her sole and separate property acquired during the marriage by gift, bequest, devise, or descent,.... D.C.Code § 16-910(a). Thus, the statute expressly exempts from distribution between the parties property that is acquired during the marriage by gift, bequest, devise, or descent. Hemily v. Hemily, 403 A.2d 1139, 1142 (D.C. 1979). We have stated that [t]he logic of exempting these categories of property from a trial judge's broad authority to apportion is that when property is acquired by one spouse in one of these ways, there normally would be little basis for an objectively reasonable expectation of an interest in that property on the part of the other spouse. Id. at 1142-43 (footnote omitted). The term descent is not defined in the statute governing distribution of property on dissolution of a marriage. Therefore, we examine the statutes governing survival and wrongful death actions as they pertain to this case to determine how the proceeds of judgment or settlement are treated for purposes of descent and distribution. In the District of Columbia, where negligent conduct results in death, there are rights of action under both the Wrongful Death Act and under the Survival Act. Semler v. Psychiatric Inst. of Washington, D.C., Inc., 188 U.S.App.D.C. 41, 43, 575 F.2d 922, 925 (1978). The Wrongful Death Act is said to create an entirely new right of action in favor of designated beneficiaries. Id., at 43, 575 F.2d at 924 (emphasis in original). Its purpose is to provide for close relatives benefits which they might reasonably be expected to have received from the decedent had he or she lived. Id., at 43-44, 575 F.2d at 924-25. Damages recovered under the Wrongful Death Act inure to the benefit of his or her family and shall be distributed to the spouse and next of kin according to the allocation made by the verdict or judgment, or in the absence of allocation, according to the provisions of the statute of distribution in force in the District. D.C.Code § 16-2703. Recovery under the Wrongful Death Act is based on the pecuniary benefits that the statutory beneficiaries might reasonably be expected to have derived from the deceased had he lived. Semler, 188 U.S.App.D.C. at 44, 575 F.2d at 925 (emphasis added). The Survival Act preserves for the benefit of the decedent's estate a right of action the decedent had before death. Semler, supra, 188 U.S.App.D.C. at 44, 575 F.2d at 925. Its purpose is to place the decedent's estate in the same position it would have occupied if the decedent's life had not been terminated prematurely. Id. Such an action must be brought by the legal representative of the decedent's estate, and all proceeds recovered by the representative pass to the decedent's estate. Id. As assets of the estate, the proceeds of the survival action recovery would be subject to distribution in accordance with the decedent's will or the laws of intestacy. See D.C.Code § 20-701(a) (1997) and § 19-301 et seq. In light of their intended beneficiaries and manner of distribution, the proceeds of both survival and wrongful death actions have characteristics similar, if not identical, to the sole and separate property acquired during the marriage by gift, bequest, devise or descent that is exempted from distribution as martial property under D.C.Code § 16-910(a). Like other property subject to be assigned solely to one spouse under D.C.Code § 16-910(a), there normally would be little basis for an objectively reasonable expectation of an interest in that property on the part of the other spouse. See Hemily, supra, 403 A.2d at 1142-43; Semler, 188 U.S.App.D.C. at 44, 575 F.2d at 925. In this case, the settlement proceeds were not expressly allocated between the survival and wrongful death claims, and no allocation was made to Mrs. Lewis as a result of the settlement of the wrongful death action. Absent allocation, the entire proceeds inure to the estate and are to be distributed in accordance with the statutes governing the distribution of intestate estates. D.C.Code § 16-2703. Therefore, all of the proceeds were treated as subject to the jurisdiction of the probate court, and the required notices under D.C.Code § 20-731 (1981) were filed. [1] The settlement proceeds were distributed according to the laws of intestate succession to the father and mother of the deceased minor. See D.C.Code § 19-308. Mr. Lewis is not within the class of people intended to benefit from either the wrongful death or the survival action for he was not a beneficiary of Kathryna Gordon's estate nor her next of kin under the laws of intestacy. [2] See D.C.Code §§ 16-2703; 19-301, -321; see also D.C.Code §§ 18-301, -308 (1997). [3] Given the pertinent statutory schemes and the facts of this case, we find no error in the trial court's determination that the proceeds of the settlement of the actions arising out of the death of Mrs. Lewis' child by a prior union are her sole and separate property and not subject to equitable distribution between these parties upon divorce. The court properly ruled, therefore, that Mrs. Lewis was entitled to summary judgment on this issue as a matter of law. See Young v. Sherwin-Williams Co., 569 A.2d 1173, 1175 (1990) (citing Super.Ct.Civ.R. 56(c)).