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162 Ga. App. 550

293 S.E.2d 446

Adams v. Wright

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Decided April 22, 1982

Court of Appeals of Georgia · decided 1982-04-22

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“Provided, however, if any one or more of those comprising the husband and children, both legitimate and dependent illegitimate, shall desire to bring an action seeking to recover for the tortious homicide of such mother, he or they may file such action and cause a copy thereof to be served personally upon the remaining individuals comprising such husband and children, or if one or more of such persons is a minor, then upon the guardian of such minor and a guardian ad litem appointed as provided by law, or if any one or more of such persons is a non-resident, then in the manner provided by law for service on a non-resident; and any of such persons may intervene in said case as an additional plaintiff at any time before final judgment. After final judgment, any of such persons not a party plaintiff shall have no further right of action against the alleged tortfeasor; but any of such persons not duly served as provided above shall have a right against the parties plaintiff for his or their proportionate part of the recovery in said action.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Cole v. Roberts

“This legislation evidences a clear intent that less than all of the potential plaintiffs may bring a subsequent action against the successful plaintiffs for a proportionate share of any amount recovered from a tortfeasor. See 8 EGL 166, Death by Wrongful Act, § 33; Eldridge, Wrongful Death Actions 83, § 10-26. The 1960 amendment to this statute did not change any right of the defendant, and he has no standing to object to an action by less than all plaintiff since only one action can be brought against him. Hence, it was not error for the trial court to charge that the minor children were entitled to sue for the full value of the life of the decedent.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Cole v. Roberts

Relies on 135 Ga. App. 369 - Gordon v. Gillespie

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1982-04-22

How this case has been cited

Cited by 13 later decisions — most recently June 2016

11 state decisions

501982199020002010decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1On Motion for Rehearing.

¶2Appellants contend we have overlooked the decision of Gordon v. Gillespie, 135 Ga. App. 369 (217 SE2d 628), which “would require a different judgment from that rendered...” We cannot agree. Gordon, supra, was an action brought by one of six surviving children, as administrator of the estate, for the full value of the life of his father. An action for the death of one’s father is brought under Code Ann. § 105-1302 (Code § 105-1302, as amended through 1973, p. 488) which requires the action to be brought by “[a] widow alone, or if no widow, a child or children ...” Thus, the widow alone is the primary beneficiary of the right of action.

¶3In the instant case this action for the death of the mother was brought under Code Ann. § 105-1306 (Code § 105-1306, as amended through 1971, p. 359), which permits “[t]he husband and/or child or children” (emphasis supplied) to recover for the death of the wife-mother. Thus, the husband and children are the primary beneficiaries of the right of action. Also, Code Ann. § 105-1306 has the additional provision, not contained in Code Ann. § 105-1302, that “if any one or more of those comprising the husband and children . . . shall desire to bring an action ... he or they may file such action and cause” the others “to be served personally ...” This statute permits less than all of the primary beneficiaries to bring only one action *555against a defendant and the rest may be personally served as additional plaintiffs. It also provides that “any of such persons not a party plaintiff shall have no further right of action against the alleged tortfeasor; but... shall have a right against the parties plaintiff for his or their proportionate part of the recovery in said action.” Thus, only one action may be brought against the alleged tortfeasor, whether it is brought by all or less than all the potential plaintiffs. Secondly, the full value of the life of the decedent must be recovered in this action for no other potential plaintiff not a party to this action can bring an action against the tortfeasor. A potential plaintiff, not a party to this action, has a remedy under Code Ann. § 105-1306 and it is against “the parties plaintiff for his or their proportionate part of the recovery in said action” — or, stated another way, the second action is for their proportionate share of the recovery for the full value of the life of the decedent. Hence, there is a deliberate legislative difference between Code Ann. §§ 105-1302 and 105-1306, actions for the death of a father and mother, and the problem, if any, is for the legislature — not this Court.

¶4Motion for rehearing denied.

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