Court Opinion

ID: 9776238
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 19:28:19.357953+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:36.174943
License: Public Domain

SPEARS, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. I would affirm the holding of the court of appeals that exemplary damages are not assessable against a tortfeasor's estate.
The Hofers contend they are entitled to exemplary damages against Springate’s es*477tate just as if he were still alive. They rely on the Texas survival statute, which provides:
All causes of action upon which suit has been or may hereafter be brought for personal injuries, or for injuries resulting in death, whether such injuries be to the health or to the reputation, or to the person of the injured party, shall not abate by reason of the death of the person against whom such cause of action shall have accrued, nor by reason of the death of such injured person, but, in the case of the death of either or both, all such causes of action shall survive to and in favor of the heirs and legal representatives and estate of such injured party and against the person, or persons liable for such injuries and his or their legal representatives, and may be instituted and prosecuted as if such person or persons against whom same accrued were alive.
Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 5525 (Vernon 1958).
The language of the statute does not expressly allow or disallow exemplary damages against an estate. The Hofers argue that the more natural reading of the statute suggests that exemplary damages should be allowed because a cause of action, including all elements of recovery, survives as if the deceased party were still alive. Because the statutory language is not conclusive, we must decide whether construing the survival statute to allow an award against an estate serves the purposes that justify exemplary damages.
Exemplary damages unquestionably serve to punish the offender and to specifically deter him from future misconduct. E.g., Burk Royalty Co. v. Walls, 616 S.W.2d 911 (Tex.1981); Bernal v. Seitt, 158 Tex. 521, 313 S.W.2d 520 (1958); Bennett v. Howard, 141 Tex. 101, 170 S.W.2d 709 (1943). Exemplary damages also make an example of the tortfeasor, which serves as a lesson to the public and as a general deterrent to similar actions by others. These dual aims were noted in Wright’s Administratrix v. Donnell, 34 Tex. 291 (1870), and were reaffirmed in Sheffield Division, Armco Steel Corp. v. Jones, 376 S.W.2d 825, 831 (Tex.1964), and Pace v. State, 650 S.W.2d 64, 65 (Tex.1983). See also W. Prosser, Handbook of the Law of Torts § 2 (4th ed. 1971); 25 C.J.S. Damages § 117(1) (1966); 28 Tex.Jur.3d Damages § 170 (1983) (collecting other Texas cases). The separate aims of punishing the tortfeasor and providing an example to deter others are mirrored by the interchangeable use of the terms “punitive” and “exemplary” to describe these damages.
Springate’s death made legal punishment impossible. No social benefit is served by attempting to punish his estate and, hence, his heirs. The Hofers apparently recognized as much and elected to submit only the exemplary element. The jury was given the following instruction:
“EXEMPLARY DAMAGES” means an amount which you may award in your discretion and as an example for the good of the public, in the interest of society at large in deterring the commission of similar wrongs.
No damages were sought or awarded as punishment. The issue then is whether the aim of general deterrence, alone, is sufficient to support an award of exemplary damages.
No Texas court has addressed this specific issue or the broader question of whether the survival statute altered the common law rule precluding exemplary damages against an estate. The case of Wright’s Administratrix v. Donnell, 34 Tex. 291 (1870), holding that exemplary damages could not be assessed, was decided long before the survival statute was enacted. The court of appeals decision in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Jones, 303 S.W.2d 432 (Tex.Civ.App.—Waco 1957, writ ref’d n.r. e.), also denied exemplary damages, but the effect of the survival statute was not addressed.
The Restatement (Second) of Torts also does not allow exemplary damages against *478a tortfeasor’s estate.1 A number of decisions from other jurisdictions support this position, but, like the prior Texas cases, none address the issue of whether the general deterrent aim of exemplary damages is sufficient to allow recovery under a broadly worded survival statute such as article 5525. Many of the states whose courts have not allowed exemplary damages2 also had survival statutes that specifically prohibit recovery of exemplary damages from a deceased tortfeasor’s estate.3 A second group of cases disallowed exemplary damages without discussing the effect of a survival statute.4
Because the jury instruction excluded any reference to punishment, the award cannot be disallowed on the basis that it attempts to punish a dead man. The Hof-ers do not contend that we should allow exemplary damages in order to punish Springate or his estate. Their argument is that, even without inflicting punishment, exemplary damages continue to act as a deterrent to others and are supportable on that basis.
In my opinion, the punitive and deterrent aims of exemplary damages are not separable. The general deterrent effect of an award cannot be considered in isolation, because to a large extent general deterrence depends on punishment. Specifically, members of the public are deterred from similar misconduct because they witness the wrongdoer’s punishment. When, through death, the tortfeasor is no longer subject to legal punishment, the general deterrent effect likewise is greatly diminished, if not completely frustrated. Effective deterrence cannot be achieved when punishment is impossible. For this reason, the deterrent function of exemplary damages is insufficient to support an award when the tortfeasor dies before trial. By separating the dual aims of exemplary damages, the court creates the potential for double recovery. The court’s reasoning will allow parties to submit one issue seeking damages to punish and deter the tort-feasor and another issue seeking damages as an example to others.
*479The court has succeeded only in punishing the innocent heirs of the deceased, a result reminiscent of the feudal doctrine of corruption of blood. Cf. Tex. Const, art. I, § 21. I would hold that, under article 5525, exemplary damages may not be assessed against a tortfeasor’s estate.
POPE, C.J., and McGEE and BARROW, JJ., join in this dissent.

. Section 926 provides:
Under statutes providing for the survival or revival of tort actions, the damages for a tort not involving death for which the tortfeasor is responsible are not affected by the death of either party before or during trial except that: ******
(b) the death of the tort feasor terminates liability for punitive damages.
RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS, § 926(b) (1979).

. See Bancroft-Whitney Co. v. Glen, 64 Cal. 2d 327, 49 Cal. Rptr. 825, 411 P.2d 921 (1966); Mervis v. Wolverton, 211 So.2d 847 (Miss.1968); Summa Corp. v. Greenspun, 96 Nev. 247, 607 P.2d 569 (1980); Gordon v. Nathan, 43 A.D.2d 917, 352 N.Y.S.2d 464 (N.Y.App.Div.1974); Ashcraft v. Saunders, 251 Or. 331, 444 P.2d 924 (1968); Dalton v. Johnson, 204 Va. 102, 129 S.E.2d 647 (1963).

. See California, CAL. PROB. CODE § 573 (West Supp. 1964); Mississippi, MISS. CODE ANN. § 91-7-235 (1972); Nevada, Nev. Rev. Stat. § 41.100 (1979); New York, N.Y. EST. POWERS & TRUSTS LAW § 11-3.2 (Consol. 1974); Oregon, OR. REV. STAT. §§ 30.020, -.080 (1983); Virginia, VA. CODE § 8.01-25 (1977); see also Colorado, COLO. REV. STAT. § 13-20-101 (1973); Maine, ME. REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 18-A, § 3-818 (1981); Massachusetts, MASS. ANN. LAWS ch. 230, § 2 (Michie/Law. Co-op. 1974); Rhode Island, R.I. GEN. LAWS § 9-1-8 (1970); Wisconsin, WIS. STAT. ANN. § 895.01 (West 1983).

.See Meighan v. Birmingham Terminal Co., 165 Ala. 591, 51 So. 775 (1910); Braun v. Moreno, 11 Ariz. App. 509, 466 P.2d 60 (1970); Johnson v. Levy, 122 La. 118, 47 So. 422 (1908); Tietjens v. General Motors Corp., 418 S.W.2d 75 (Mo.1967); Barnes v. Smith, 305 F.2d 226 (10th Cir. 1962) (applying New Mexico law); Thorpe v. Wilson, 58 N.C. App. 292, 293 S.E.2d 675 (1982); Morriss v. Barton, 200 Okl. 4, 190 P.2d 451 (1947) (Oklahoma has since enacted a survival statute that allows recovery of exemplary damages from a decedent’s estate. See OKLA. STAT. ANN. tit. 12, § 1038 (West 1961)); Hayes v. Gill, 216 Tenn. 39, 390 S.W.2d 213 (1965); Mercante v. Hein, 51 Wyo. 389, 67 P.2d 196 (1937).
A number of these cases are also distinguishable because the courts only considered the frustrated punitive aim and did not discuss the viability of the general deterrent effect of an award. This distinction was recognized in Perry v. Melton, 299 S.E.2d 8 (W.Va.1982), which held that exemplary damages were recoverable because they also served to deter others and provide additional compensation. See abo Johnson v. Rinesmith, 238 So.2d 659 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1969), cert. denied 241 So.2d 857 (Fla.1970).