In affirming the dismissal of a pair of cases, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court sided with two Big Tobacco companies, holding that a representative of an estate may have a right to bring a wrongful death action if the decedent would have been able to bring a cause of action for injuries that caused his or her death.
However, if a decedent could not maintain a personal injury action at the time of death, then the representative of their estate “has no right to bring an action for wrongful death.” Such was the case in an underlying tort and breach of warranty claims against brought by two estates against Philip Morris USA Inc., and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., according to the court’s unanimous July 6 opinion.
