The Wrongful Death Act, pursuant to which Gillette obtained her recovery, provides that “damages recovered shall be distributed to the beneficiaries in the proportion they would take the personal estate of the decedent in the case of intestacy” 42 Pa.C.S. ¶ 3 Under the proposed settlement, Debbie Gillette was to receive $288,000, with the remainder payable to Jacob Tury. ![]() ![]() The trial court consolidated the two actions and, ultimately, Tury and Gillette agreed jointly with the Wursts to settle their respective actions upon payment on the Wursts' behalf of the $300,000 limit of their homeowners' insurance coverage. Tury sustained non-permanent injuries and, like Debbie Gillette, commenced an action against Wurst and his parents, seeking compensation. Furst also shot fellow student Jacob Tury. While acting as a chaperone at an eighth grade graduation dinner dance, Husband was shot and killed by defendant Andrew Furst, one of the students attending the dance. Husband was employed as a teacher at Parker Middle School in Edinboro, Erie County. ¶ 2 Utica appeals an order of the Court of Common Pleas approving a plan of settlement and distribution of the proceeds of a Wrongful Death action commenced by Debbie Gillette individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of her husband, John Gillette (Husband), following Husband's death while acting in the course and scope of his employment. We hold that neither the Wrongful Death Act nor the Workers' Compensation Act prevents a beneficiary's disclaimer of an intestate interest in the proceeds of a wrongful death action so long as that disclaimer is carried out in accordance with the intestacy provisions of Pennsylvania's Decedents, Estate and Fiduciaries Code (DEF Code). Intervenors Utica National Insurance Group and General McLane School District (Utica) contend that such a disclaimer contravenes provisions of the Worker's Compensation Act that allow enforcement of a lien to offset benefits paid. ¶ 1 In this appeal, we consider whether the recipient of settlement proceeds under Pennsylvania's Wrongful Death Act may disclaim her intestate share of those proceeds when her disclaimer effectively prevents satisfaction of a subrogation lien by an insurance carrier. Longo, Cleveland, OH, for Gillette, appellees. Utica National Insurance Group and General McLane School District, Appellants Decided: January 24, 2005īEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, PANELLA, and JOHNSON, JJ. Wurst Landscape Contractor, Inc., Jacob Tury, a Minor, by and through his Parents and Legal Guardians, Joe Tury and Noreen Tury, and Joe Tury and Noreen Tury, Individually v. Debbie GILLETTE, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of John Gillette, Deceased v.Ĭatherine WURST, as Parent and Guardian of Andrew Wurst, a Minor, Jerome J.
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