Bowslaugh v. Bowslaugh

In Bowslaugh v. Bowslaugh, 126 Ariz. 517, 617 P.2d 25 (1979), the surviving mother brought a wrongful death action against the surviving father for negligently starting a fire that killed two of their daughters. The supreme court agreed with the trial court that the doctrine of interspousal immunity prevented the mother from recovering damages from the father. And, in upholding the trial court's refusal to allow an amendment to recover on behalf of the children's estates, our supreme court strictly construed the language in 12-612(A) to mean that regardless of the named beneficiaries' legal inability to recover damages, a decedent's estate may not recover wrongful death damages unless there is no surviving spouse, child, or parent. Id. at 519, 617 P.2d at 27.