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Welch v. State8/30/2000
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Stanislaus County. William A. Mayhew, Judge.
This appeal concerns whether plaintiff and appellant, Mary Welch, has standing as a putative spouse to prosecute a wrongful death action against defendants and respondents, the State of California and the California Department of Transportation. Appellant alleged she qualified as a putative spouse because she believed, in good faith, that she and the decedent were validly married. However, the trial court found that this subjective belief was objectively unreasonable. Consequently, summary adjudication was granted in respondents' favor on the ground that appellant was not a putative spouse.
Appellant argues that the determination of whether she believed, in good faith, that she was validly married is dependent on certain triable issues of material fact. However, the trial court correctly evaluated this case. The undisputed facts would not cause a reasonable person in appellant's position to harbor such a belief.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS
Leonard Welch was killed when a large tree growing along State Route 99 fell onto the highway and hit Welch's pick-up truck. Appellant thereafter filed a complaint for wrongful death alleging she was entitled to maintain the action as Leonard Welch's surviving spouse and sole surviving heir.
However, appellant and Leonard Welch never complied with the requirements for a valid marriage under California law. Although they lived together for almost 30 years and conducted themselves as if married, appellant and Leonard Welch neither acquired a marriage license nor engaged in a solemnization ceremony. Rather, they exchanged personal wedding vows "wherein they stated that they loved each other and that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together."
By the time appellant began living with Leonard Welch in 1968, she had been legally married and divorced twice. Nevertheless, appellant stated she did not think that a marriage license and formal ceremony were necessary to be legally married in California. Appellant noted with respect to her two previous marriages "that paper [marriage license] didn't make it any better." Consequently, appellant "didn't feel that the paper would mean any more or less." Rather, appellant believed that she and Leonard Welch were validly married because of their expressed and demonstrated commitment to each other.
Respondents moved for summary adjudication of issues on the ground that appellant did not have standing to sue for the wrongful death of Leonard Welch. Respondents argued that appellant was not a surviving spouse, putative spouse or sole surviving heir as required by Code of Procedure section 377.60.
The trial court granted the motion. The court ruled that appellant's declaration and certain judicially noticed public records showed there were "no triable disputes of material fact." The court then determined that " hatever belief plaintiff Mary Welch had" did not meet the objectively reasonable standard required by Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60. Therefore, appellant was not the decedent's putative spouse.
Appellant argues the facts sufficiently demonstrate that her belief in the validity of her marriage was in good faith. Appellant claims she did not think it was necessary to have a marriage license or a formal wedding ceremony. In other words, she believed a common law marriage was valid. According to appellant, this subjective belief in conjunction with the outward appearance of a marriage gives rise to a triable issue of fact regarding her good faith.
DISCUSSION
Appellant does not
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