Ford Motor Co. v. Superior Court

POCHÉ, J.—I respectfully dissent.

In this state the recoverability of punitive damages in a death case depends upon whether the decedent became such instantaneously or less quickly. The magic is in determining whether the victim had “a cause of action” (Prob. Code, § 573) before he died: if he did, it survives together with a punitive measurement of damages.1 In short, a malicious actor is subject to such punishment when he harms property, when he causes personal injury or nonimmediate death, but not when he dispatches you straightaway.

*754The facts of this case highlight some of the unusual…