CALIF. ST. AUTO. ASSN., INTER-INS. v. Jacobson

24 Cal.App.3d 850 (1972) 101 Cal. Rptr. 366 CALIFORNIA STATE AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION, INTERINSURANCE BUREAU, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

EDWARD JACOBSON, Individually and as Special Administrator, etc., Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. 29346. Court of Appeals of California, First District, Division Three.

April 12, 1972. [852] COUNSEL

Robert E. Hannon for Defendant and Appellant.

Hutchins & Jackson and Robert W. Yank for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

DRAPER, P.J.

This appeal raises an issue not previously determined in this state — whether a stepfather can maintain an action for damages for the wrongful death of his stepdaughter.

The only record here is the judgment roll, but appellant's brief makes a statement of facts in which respondent concurs. Geraldine Gehrt was born in 1923. Her father died in 1936, and later that year her mother married appellant, who never adopted Geraldine. For some years, she lived with her mother and stepfather. The latter provided her care and support, and put her through nursing school. About 1957, Geraldine, who never married, left the family residence and lived by herself. Her mother died in 1966. In December 1967, she drove, with the owner's consent, an automobile owned by Nevada Ware. That car collided with one driven by an uninsured motorist and Geraldine died as a result of the injuries she sustained. There is no claim that she left a will. Ware was insured by plaintiff-respondent under a policy which provided uninsured motorist coverage (Ins. Code, § 11580.2). (1a) Defendant stepfather was appointed special administrator of Geraldine's estate, and as such brought an action for wrongful death against Ware and others. Plaintiff, as insurer of the Ware car, brought this action in declaratory relief, seeking determination of its liability, under the uninsured motorist provision of its policy, to defendant stepfather. The trial court found that defendant was not an "heir" within the meaning of the wrongful death act (Code Civ. Proc., § 377) and that Geraldine left no heir. Hence it declared that defendant, whether individually or as special administrator, could not recover from plaintiff insurer. Defendant appeals.