Federated Services Insurance v. Personal Representative of the Estate of Norberg

Becker, A.C.J.

In a survival action, a panel of arbitrators awarded damages to a young man’s estate for the inheritance he would have received from his parents if he had outlived them. We hold the award was erroneous on its face and the trial court properly vacated it.

David Norberg, while driving his employer’s truck, died in a head-on collision with another vehicle. David was not at fault. At age 29, David left no spouse or dependents, and no will. David’s estate, whose beneficiaries were his mother and father, received the other driver’s liability insurance policy limits of $50,000. The…