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Bell v. Nolan9/14/2001
The parents of a woman who died after being assaulted by her husband on the premises of an American Legion post filed a wrongful death claim, which named the husband and the American Legion post as defendants. The parents alleged that the Legion's employees had failed to render assistance to the injured woman. The trial court dismissed the complaint against the American Legion, reasoning that the surviving spouse is the only party entitled to maintain an action for the wrongful death of the other spouse. We reverse.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Reversed
Ben H. Cantrell, P.J., M.S., delivered the opinion of the court, in which William B. Cain and Patricia J. Cottrell, JJ., joined.
OPINION
I. An Untimely Death
This case arose from the tragic death of thirty-four year old Beverly Jean Nolan. On July 8, 1995, Ms. Nolan and her husband, Richard Gene Nolan, were at the American Legion Hall in Tullahoma. The Legion operates a restaurant and provides meeting rooms and social activities on its premises.
According to the Complaint later filed by Ms. Nolan's parents (and given the posture of this case, we must accept their account as true) Mr. and Ms. Nolan had an argument at about 8:00 p.m., which prompted Ms. Nolan to leave the building and walk out to the parking lot. Mr. Nolan immediately followed her, and struck her in the head with enough force to knock her to the ground. Ms. Nolan's visible injuries were a contusion and laceration on her face. She got up in a dazed condition, and although unsteady on her feet, re-entered the restaurant.
Employees of the restaurant, including a security guard named Don Cruse, allegedly asked Beverly Nolan what happened to her, and asked Richard Nolan if he had struck his wife. Mr. Nolan acted unconcerned, and stated that he would get his wife's car and take her away. When Mr. Nolan left, Mr. Cruse held Ms. Nolan to keep her from falling. A nurse who was nearby suggested that Ms. Nolan was seriously injured, and that Mr. Cruse should call an ambulance to take her to the hospital.
Ms. Nolan's parents allege that as Mr. Nolan was driving the automobile up to the restaurant, Ms. Nolan began to collapse, and that as she did so, she whispered to Mr. Cruse that her husband did indeed strike her, and that this was not the first time he did so. She also allegedly asked Mr. Cruse if she had to leave with her husband, and he said she did not. Ms. Nolan then collapsed, and never regained consciousness.
When Mr. Nolan arrived with the automobile, he did not get out of the vehicle. Instead, as Mr. Cruse placed the unconscious woman into the passenger seat, Mr. Nolan grabbed his wife by her clothes, and pulled her into the car. He then drove her home. After arriving home, Mr. Nolan called his wife's parents, John and Myra Bell, and without revealing his assault, told them that their daughter had fallen while drunk.
Mr. Bell went to the Nolan home to retrieve his daughter and bring her to his own home. At about 5:00 p.m. the following day, Ms. Nolan's condition was noticeably worse, and the Bells had her transported to a Tullahoma hospital. From there, she was carried by helicopter to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, where she was pronounced dead of a traumatic subdural hematoma with massive brain infarction.
II. Legal Proceedings
On May 17, 1996, John and Myra Bell filed a Wrongful Death Complaint as Beverly Nolan's surviving parents and next of kin. After Mr. Bell qualified as the administrator of his daughter's estate, the court granted his motion to be substituted in that capacity as the party
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