Carranza v. Carranza-Sanchez

• Decision Date: 20 December 2011
• Docket Number: No. 20090409.,20090409.
• Citation: 2011 UT 80,267 P.3d 912,698 Utah Adv. Rep. 9
• Parties: Miguel CARRANZA and Amelia Sanchez, natural parents of Jesua M.V. Carranza–Sanchez, deceased, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. UNITED STATES and John and Jane Does I–X, Defendants and Appellees.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

2011 UT 80

267 P.3d 912

698 Utah Adv. Rep. 9

Miguel CARRANZA and Amelia Sanchez, natural parents of Jesua M.V. Carranza–Sanchez, deceased, Plaintiffs and Appellants,

v.UNITED STATES and John and Jane Does I–X, Defendants and Appellees.

No. 20090409.

Supreme Court of Utah.

Dec. 20, 2011.

Kevin J. Sutterfield, Brett R. Boulton, Provo, for appellants.

Carlie Christensen, Jeffrey E. Nelson, Amy J. Oliver, Salt Lake City, for appellees.

Chief Justice DURHAM, opinion:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1 This case presents a single issue on certification from the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah: “Does Utah's wrongful death statute allow an action for the wrongful death of an unborn child?” At the time the claim was filed, Utah's wrongful death statute stated in relevant part that “a parent or guardian may maintain an action for the death or injury of a minor child when the injury or death is caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.” Utah Code Ann. § 78–11–6 (Supp.2006).¹

¶ 2 Although there is no majority opinion, four members of this court hold that the statute allows an action for the wrongful death of an unborn child; the term “minor child,” as used in the statute, includes an unborn child.

BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Appellant Amelia Sanchez received prenatal care at the Mountainlands Community Health Center in Provo, Utah, between December 28, 2005, and April 19, 2006. On April 19, 2006, Ms. Sanchez went to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, and it was determined that the fetus had no heartbeat. On April 20, 2006, Ms. Sanchez gave birth to a stillborn male.

¶ 4 Ms. Sanchez and Miguel Carranza, the stillborn child's father, filed suit against the United States in federal district court.² They alleged medical negligence and requested damages for their pain and suffering, for the wrongful death of their child, and for expenses related to their child's death.

¶ 5 The United States filed a motion in limine to exclude from trial all evidence regarding the plaintiffs' damages for wrongful death. In response, the plaintiffs filed a motion to certify the following question to the Utah Supreme Court: “Does Utah Code Ann. § 78–11–6 allow a claim to be made for the wrongful death of an unborn child?” Noting that the plaintiffs' proposed question for certification is dispositive of the motion in limine and that there is no controlling Utah law, the federal district court granted the plaintiffs' motion to certify. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Utah Code section 78A–3–102(1).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 6 “On certification, we answer the legal questions presented without resolving the underlying dispute.” Iverson v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 2011 UT 34, ¶ 8, 256 P.3d 222 (internal quotation marks omitted).

ANALYSIS

¶ 7 At the time this claim was filed, Utah's wrongful death statute stated that “a parent or guardian may maintain an action for the death or injury of a minor child when the injury or death is caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.” Utah Code Ann. § 78–11–6 (Supp.2006).³

¶ 8 When interpreting statutes, this court's objective “is to give effect to the legislature's intent.” Harold Selman, Inc. v. Box Elder Cnty., 2011 UT 18, ¶ 18, 251 P.3d 804 (internal quotation marks omitted). “To discern legislative intent, we look first to the statute's plain language.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). If the language of the statute yields a plain meaning that does not lead to an absurd result, the analysis ends. LPI Servs. v. McGee, 2009 UT 41, ¶ 11, 215 P.3d 135. “[T]he statutory text may not be ‘plain’ when read in isolation, but may become so in light of its linguistic, structural, and statutory context.” Olsen v. Eagle Mountain City, 2011 UT 10, ¶ 9, 248 P.3d 465.

¶ 9 This court has not yet reached the issue of whether the statute's reference to “minor child” includes an unborn child. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Clyde, 920 P.2d 1183, 1187 n. 4 (Utah 1996). In Clyde, the plaintiffs' minor daughter and her unborn child were both killed in an automobile accident. Id. at 1184. When the plaintiffs sued to recover damages for the death of their unborn grandchild, the court held that the plaintiffs were “not entitled to maintain an action under section 78–11–6” because they did “not qualify as the parents or guardians of [the] unborn child.” Id. at 1186. Therefore, the court had no need to “decide the more general question of whether the death of a fetus can ever provide the basis for maintaining an action under section 78–11–6.” ⁴ Id. at 1187 n. 4.

¶ 10 In my view, a plain language reading reveals that the term “minor child,” as used in this statute, includes an unborn child. The statute does not itself define the term “minor child,” but in general usage the term “child” may refer to a young person, a baby, or a fetus. Black's Law Dictionary 271 (9th ed. 2009).⁵ The adjective “minor” is connected to the concept of legal minority: it modifies the term “child” to include a child who has not yet reached the age of majority. Therefore, “minor” sets an upper age limit on the term “child” at majority, but does not set a lower limit. The term “minor,” then, may refer to the period from conception to the age of majority, thereby encompassing an unborn child.⁶

¶ 11 The United States argues that the legislature generally uses “the modifier ‘unborn’ when it intends to include an unborn child in statutory provisions.” The United States is correct that the term “unborn child” appears elsewhere in the Utah Code, even in the same statute as the term “minor.” See Utah Code Ann. § 75–7–303(6) (Supp.2011) ⁷ (“[A] parent may represent and bind the parent's minor or unborn child if a conservator or guardian for the child has not been appointed.”). However, the legislature has adopted various formulae in different statutes, and my plain language interpretation of “minor child” in this statute yields no absurd results.⁸ See Encon Utah, LLC v. Fluor Ames Kraemer, LLC, 2009 UT 7, ¶ 73, 210 P.3d 263 (“When statutory language plausibly presents the court with two alternative readings, we prefer the reading that avoids absurd results.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).

¶ 12 On the contrary, my analysis results in the recognition of a cause of action for the wrongful death of an unborn child, a conclusion that is consistent with other provisions of the Utah Code. First, this cause of action mirrors the Utah Criminal Code's protection for unborn children. See, e.g., Utah Code Ann. § 76–7–301.1(1) (2008) (“It is the finding and policy of the Legislature ... that unborn children have inherent and inalienable rights that are entitled to protection by the state of Utah pursuant to the provisions of the Utah Constitution.”); see also id. § 76–5–201(1)(a) (Supp. 2011) (defining the offense of criminal homicide to include the death of “an unborn child at any stage of its development”). Second, recognizing a cause of action for the wrongful death of an unborn child falls in line with the Utah Judicial Code's statement that “the public policy of this state [is] to encourage all persons to respect the right to life of all other persons, ... including ... all unborn persons.” Id. § 78B–3–109(1) (2008).

¶ 13 In recognizing the existence of this cause of action, I acknowledge that a plaintiff may encounter difficulties in proving causation for the wrongful death of an unborn child. However, “the substantive rights resulting from wrongful death must be protected, regardless of the inherent practical difficulties.” Eich v. Town of Gulf Shores, 293 Ala. 95, 300 So.2d 354, 358 (1974).

CONCLUSION

¶ 14 Utah Code section 78–11–6 allows an action for the wrongful death of an unborn child,⁹ beginning at conception.¹⁰ This decision is limited to the statute as it existed before its amendment in 2009 and thus it does not address whether Utah Code section 78B–3–106(1) allows an action for the wrongful death of an unborn child.

Chief Justice DURHAM authored an opinion, in which Justice PARRISH joined.

Justice LEE authored an opinion, in which Associate Chief Justice DURRANT joined.

Justice NEHRING filed a dissenting opinion.

Justice LEE, opinion:

¶ 15 The question whether a fetus is a “minor child” under our wrongful death statute is a difficult one. It cannot properly be resolved by simple resort to dictionary definitions of the statutory text, as accepted definitions of “minor child” include both a narrow notion of a child postpartum and also a broader notion that encompasses a child in utero.

¶ 16 Thus, Chief Justice Durham's opinion notes that some definitions of “child” encompass a “baby” or “fetus,” supra ¶ 10 ¹ and that “minor” often refers to an individual under the age of a legally recognized minority (without any age floor), supra ¶ 10.² At the same time, the dissent cites an alternative notion of “child” as referring to a “ ‘child which has been born.’ ” Infra ¶ 30.

¶ 17 Each side seeks to validate its construction as rooted in the statute's “plain language.” Supra ¶ 10; infra ¶ 29. I fail to find a plain answer in the statutory text, however. I view the bare words of the statute to be susceptible to either a broad construction that includes unborn children or a narrow one that excludes them.

¶ 18 Where both parties' interpretations fall within the range of meanings identified in dictionaries, it is unhelpful for the court to rest on the unelaborated assertion that our chosen construction is dictated by the “plain language.” Too often, a court's conclusion that statutory language is “plain” is a substitute for careful analysis. At best, such unexplained conclusions are based on a judge's gestalt sense of the best meaning of the words in question. At worst, the bare insistence that statutory language is “plain” is cover (perhaps subconscious) for judicial policymaking.

¶ 19 Any appearance of the latter is unacceptable. And the former is insufficient, as it gives no guidance to the drafters or targets of legislation as to how this...