Summary
holding that a wrongful death action must be brought by the personal representative
Summary of this case from Nacht v. LevinOpinion
No. 87-2964.
November 8, 1988.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Joseph A. Farina, J.
Charles R. Lipcon and Brett Rivkind, Miami, for appellants.
Speiser, Krause and Madole, Washington, D.C., Podhurst, Orseck, Parks, Josefsberg, Eaton, Meadow Olin and Joel Eaton, Thornton, David Murray and Terry L. Redford, Miami, for appellees.
Before HUBBART, BASKIN and JORGENSON, JJ.
We hold that the trial court correctly ruled that appellants, decedent's parents, were without standing to bring a wrongful death action in Florida. Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1985), directs that a wrongful death action must be brought by the personal representative. In this case, decedent's wife, not his parents, serves as "administratrix" of the estate. As a result, the parents lack standing to sue, and the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the parents' claim. Furthermore, appellants, who are merely potential beneficiaries in the wrongful death action instituted by decedent's administratrix, lacked standing in the trial court to contest the court's determination of applicable law. Poyer v. Burris, 533 So.2d 888 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). We affirm the dismissal of appellants' claims.
AFFIRMED.