Goodleft v. Gullickson

VANDE WALLE, Chief Justice.

Myrtle Goodleft, for herself and for the estate of her five-year old grandson, Dustin Seewalker, appealed from a summary judgment dismissing her claim against Phillip Gullickson for the wrongful death of Dustin. We hold that, under N.D.C.C. § 32-21-03, Goodleft was not entitled to bring a wrongful death claim as Dustin’s “surviving mother or father” and she failed to satisfy the statutory requirements for bringing the claim in her capacity as personal representative of Dustin’s estate. However, we conclude that, under N.D.R.Civ.P. 17(a), the trial court should have…