Commercial Union Insurance v. Pelchat

OPINION

LEDERBERG, Justice.

This case requires us to determine who, if anyone, is entitled to recover benefits in a wrongful death action in which a husband was the proximate cause of his new wife’s death. The wrongful death act provides that a decedent’s next of kin become beneficiaries in the event there are no spouse and children. Guided by our canons of statutory construction and our prior case law, we hold that the wrongful death act permits recovery of benefits by a decedent’s next of kin where, as here, the spouse is not legally entitled to recover.

Facts and Procedural Histoiy

Raymond…