Nix v. McElrath

This case concerns a wrongful-death action brought in the Baldwin Circuit Court by Robin McElrath ("the mother"), as mother and next friend of her deceased minor daughter, Magen K. Nix. The two issues presented for review are whether the mother, a divorced parent, had the exclusive right to commence the wrongful-death action, and whether she had the exclusive right to the proceeds from this action.

Facts and Procedural History

Magen was born on December 15, 1984, during the marriage of the mother and Thomas Wayne Dixon. The mother and Dixon subsequently divorced, and the mother later married…