Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

My sister was found dead in her home. It took 3 pages of the coroners report to list all the bruises on her body. The coroner report says cause of death undetermined with possible asphyxia. Her live in boyfriend is the only suspect but hasn't been arrested yet.. He had scratches on his face and his stories are extremely inconsistent.They were living in a house owned by her boyfriends mother. He has a long history of violence and his own mother fears him.. Several years ago she served an eviction notice to her sons former wife when her son was married. The eviction notice reads " due to action by my son, I feel its best for all parties involved that you and the kids find housing elsewhere for the safety and well being of all involved"..She feared her son was going to hurt or kill them so she got the wife and kids out of the house by evicting them. I want to know if I can sue her for the wrongful death of my sister because on the night my sister was killed, his mother called their house at 9:30 pm. She said that her son and my sister were having some sort of fight and that he was enraged and belligerent and refused to tell her what was going on so she told him to put my sister on the phone. She said she barely spoke witth my sister before he grabbed the phone from her and hung it up. The next morning when she went to see her son, there was crime scene tape and police everywhere and my sister was dead. So can I sue her or her homeowners insurance company for wrongful death being that my sister died in the home she owns and due to the fact she knew how violent he was that night and he knew they were fighting, yet she did nothing to protect my sister, she could've called the cops or went there to make sure my sister was ok but she did nothing. She was obviously aware of the danger he posed since she evicted his former wife in an attempt to spare her and the grandkids lives.


Asked on 3/30/14, 10:02 pm

6 Answers from Attorneys

BRUCE NELSON BRUCE E. NELSON ATTORNEY AT LAW

This question calls for information too extensive to cover in this forum.If you would like to call me I would be more able to address your concerns.There would be no charge for the consultation. My name is Bruce Nelson 916-448-8831.

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Answered on 3/30/14, 10:16 pm
Armen Tashjian Law Offices of Armen M. Tashjian

You, actually your sister's legal heirs, may have a case here. More investigation of the facts are needed however. Did you tell the cops about what you wrote above? If so, the boyfriend seems like a prime suspect here.

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Answered on 3/31/14, 1:39 am
David Lupoff Law Offices of David B. Lupoff

I am deeply sorry to read about you sister's horrible passing.

It is possible there may be a case somewhere here, but this case will be all about "duty". The defense will assert that you sister was not an unknowing tenant. Instead, she was the live in girlfriend of this man, which is a much different relationship than your sister simply being a tenant. That said, your sister could have, and probably would have suffered the same fate with this man had they rented an apartment in Chicago.

Another consideration is, while your sister's mother apparently knew how dangerous this man was, your sister knew as well, and that was the man she chose to remain with.

I truly wish you and your family the best through this terrible time. Good luck.

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Answered on 3/31/14, 6:52 am
David Lupoff Law Offices of David B. Lupoff

Allow a quick correction as it is difficult to answer questions on these little phones. I meant to say, your sister's boyfriend's mother.

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Answered on 3/31/14, 7:08 am
Robert Worth Robert J. Worth , Professional Law Corporation

I am sorry for you loss and that of you family. Clearly, the facts of your sister's death is suspicious. Time ad both a police and coroner's further investigation should provide more answers. But that being said if the property owner's son is ultimately convicted of killing your sister than prior knowledge of his violent conduct might be a key issue even though her insurance company most likely argue that it/she cannot be liable (verses guilty) for the criminal actions of her son. A potential case for you and other similarly positioned family heirs may potentially exist enough to warrant further investigation but more facts will be required. I hope this helps.

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Answered on 3/31/14, 7:33 am
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

I'm so sorry for your loss. How awful.

Your sister's estate may have a decent case against the the boyrfriend's mother, but my guess is that it doesn't. The executor should consult with lawyers to see whether there is a case worth bringing.

In order to win such a case, the estate would have to prove that the mother owed your sister a duty to protect her from the boyfriend, that she breached that duty, and that the breach was a contributing factor to your sister's death. My sense is that she had no such duty, either as the suspect's mother or as his landlord. Even if she did, I think it will be hard to prove causation.

Your sister's death was caused by her killer, not by the killer's landlord (assuming that the killer was the boyfriend). Even if one person's negligence set the stage for harm to someone else, she generally won't be liable if the harm was actually caused by the intentional acts of a third party. That is not always true, but it often is.

There is a more fundamental question, though. Your theory seems to be that the mother should have evicted the son, and that her failure to do so was wrongful. Even if it was, that does not mean it played any part in your sister's death. Her boyfriend likely would have been just as capable of killing her if he lived somewhere else. The fact that he was living in a house his mother owned probably did not contribute to what happened. If I'm right about that, then the estate will have a hard time convincing a jury to hold the mother liable.

Even if the mother is liable, she will only bear a fraction of the responsibility for what happened. The jury would have to decide how much. The boyfriend will almost surely be assigned most of the blame. Let's say the mother was negligent and the jury says she was 10% at fault. The jury would have to decide how much compensation your sister's estate should receive, and would then enter a judgment against the mother for 10% of that amount.

These are just my initial thoughts about a very sad and complicated case. The executor really does need to consult with a lawyer in more depth than we can offer here.

Good luck, and my condolences again on this tragedy.

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Answered on 3/31/14, 10:40 am


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