Locust v. Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Inc.

LAKE, Chief Justice.

This appeal arises out of a unique set of circumstances bringing into question the interplay between chapter 31A, Acts Barring Property Rights and chapter 29, the Intestate Succession Act, and their effect upon the Wrongful Death Act, N.C.G.S. § 28A-18-2. The primary issue is whether chapter 31A should be considered a part of chapter 29 thereby changing the rules of intestacy, for purposes of determining standing in a wrongful death action.

In this case, Helen Locust (“plaintiff’) instituted a wrongful death action, and she now appeals from a decision of the North Carolina…