Parent may recover loss of consortium damages for loss of adult child

Law Reporter, Nov 2004

Renville v. Fredriekson, No. 03-170, 2004 WL 1926122 (Mont. Aug. 31,2004).

The Supreme Court of Montana held parents may recover loss of consortium damages for an adult child's death.

Here, after Renville's adult son was killed in an automobile accident, she sued the estate of the other driver, seeking loss of consortium damages. The trial court granted defendant summary judgment on the ground that Montana does not recognize a loss of consortium claim for the death of an adult child.

Reversing in part, the state high court cited Bear Med. v United States, 192 F. Supp. 2d 1053 (D. Mont. 2002), in which a federal district court in Montana predicted that the state supreme court would permit recovery of consortium damages for the loss of an adult child. In Bear Med., the court noted, an adult son devoted to his parents was being groomed to carry on his father's family responsibilities. In explaining its rationale for permitting the man's parents to recover loss of consortium damages, the federal court noted that the state high court had repeatedly recognized its "authority and responsibility for the continued development of the common law in this area." Noting that the state already allowed loss of consortium claims for the death of a spouse or minor child, the court reasoned that extending recovery to cases involving the loss of an adult child furthered this development and was consistent with the law's purpose.

The federal court also relied on Arizona Supreme Court case law reasoning that parents should be permitted to recover consortium damages for the loss of an adult child because the grief and sorrow of losing a child does not end when he or she turns 18. Thus, the court said, it is the quality of the relationship that should govern whether such damages are recoverable.

Adopting this reasoning, the state high court said that under certain circumstances, such as those in Bear Med., the bond between parents and their adult child and the loss experienced at the child's death may be of such quality as to warrant recovery for loss of consortium. The court was unwilling to draw a hard and fast line as to when such damages are recoverable, saying instead that recovery must be determined on a case-by-case basis. However, the court said a parent seeking recovery must present evidence of "an extraordinarily close and interdependent relationship."

Accordingly, the court remanded.

Plaintiff's Counsel

* Dane J. Durham, Missoula, Mont.

* Joseph C. Engel III, Great Falls, Mont.