Ex parte 2215 Northport OpCo LLC

• Jurisdiction: Alabama,United States
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: MITCHELL, Justice.
• Docket Number: SC-2023-0635
• Decision Date: 08 March 2024
• Parties: Ex parte 2215 Northport OpCo LLC and 2215 Northport PropCo LLC v. 2215 Northport OpCo LLC and 2215 Northport PropCo LLC In re Eric J. Anders, as personal representative of the Estate of Charlie G. Sansing, deceased
• topic: Personal Injury Law,Civil Procedure,Wills, Trusts and Estates

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Ex parte 2215 Northport OpCo LLC and 2215 Northport PropCo LLC

In re Eric J. Anders, as personal representative of the Estate of Charlie G. Sansing, deceased v. 2215 Northport OpCo LLC and 2215 Northport PropCo LLC

No. SC-2023-0635

Supreme Court of Alabama

March 8, 2024

(Tuscaloosa Circuit Court: CV-2022-900664).

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

MITCHELL, Justice.

Charlie G. Sansing died in Tuscaloosa County in 2020. Nearly two years later, Tuscaloosa attorney Eric J. Anders petitioned the Tuscaloosa Probate Court to appoint him as the administrator ad colligendum of Sansing's estate -- a role that would authorize Anders to collect and manage Sansing's assets while they awaited distribution to his beneficiaries. The probate court granted Anders's petition. Anders then brought in the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court a wrongful-death action against 2215 Northport OpCo LLC d/b/a Forest Manor Health and Rehabilitation and 2215 Northport PropCo LLC (collectively referred to as "Northport") just one day before the two-year limitations period expired. Northport moved to dismiss the action, arguing that Anders was not a proper plaintiff because the probate court had not appointed him as the personal representative of Sansing's estate and Alabama law does not permit anyone other than a personal representative to bring a wrongful-death action, see § 6-5-410, Ala. Code 1975. And, Northport argued, because no properly appointed personal representative had brought a wrongful-death action within the two-year limitations period the cause of action was extinguished.

Despite the probate court's order appointing Anders to only the limited role of administrator ad colligendum, and despite our caselaw specifying that only executors and general administrators may serve as personal representatives in a wrongful-death action, the circuit court denied Northport's motion. Northport petitions this Court for a writ of mandamus directing the circuit court to dismiss the case. Because the materials clearly establish that Anders is not a proper party to bring suit, we grant Northport's petition.

Facts and Procedural History

Sansing died on August 2, 2020, in Tuscaloosa County. In his will, he named Alphonso Duncan as the executor of his estate. On July 22, 2022 -- nearly two years after Sansing's death -- Duncan petitioned the Tuscaloosa Probate Court to probate Sansing's will and to appoint him as the personal representative of Sansing's estate. The probate court did not act on Duncan's petition.

One week later, on July 29, 2022, Anders filed an "Amended Petition for Letters of Administration ad Colligendum," asking the probate court to appoint him administrator ad colligendum "so that [he] may file a wrongful death lawsuit." That same day, the probate court granted Anders's petition and named him as the "special administrator" of Sansing's estate. In its "Order Granting Letters of Administration ad Colligendum," the probate court authorized Anders "to collect and take into his possession the goods and chattels, monies, books, papers and evidence of debt of the deceased" until the probate court appointed a personal representative of the estate, at which time Anders's position would terminate.

On August 1, 2022, Anders commenced a wrongful-death action against Northport in the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court. In the complaint, Anders referred to himself as the "personal representative" of Sansing's estate and alleged that Sansing had died as a result of receiving substandard care while living in one of Northport's rehabilitation centers.

On September 9, 2022, Northport moved to dismiss the action. In its motion, Northport argued that because Anders had been appointed administrator ad colligendum -- not personal representative -- of Sansing's estate, he lacked authority under § 6-5-410 to bring a wrongful-death action. Because Anders lacked that authority, Northport argued, the circuit court never acquired subject-matter jurisdiction and the lawsuit was a nullity. Further, Northport argued, since no properly appointed personal representative had initiated an action within the two-year limitations period, the cause of action was extinguished. The circuit court denied Northport's motion.

Northport then filed a petition for a writ of mandamus asking this Court to direct the circuit court to dismiss the action.

Standard of Review

A writ of mandamus is appropriate if the petitioner can show "1) a clear legal right ... to the order sought; 2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; 3) the lack of another adequate remedy; and 4) [the] properly invoked jurisdiction of the court." Ex parte United Serv. Stations, Inc., 628 So.2d 501, 503 (Ala. 1993). This Court has consistently held that these requirements can be met in cases in which someone other than a personal representative commences a wrongful-death action. See, e.g., Ex parte Bio-Medical Applications of Alabama, Inc., 216 So.3d 420 (Ala. 2016); Ex parte Hubbard Props., Inc., 205 So.3d 1211 (2016). In determining whether to grant mandamus relief, "this Court reviews issues of law de novo." Ex parte Terry, 957 So.2d 455, 457 (Ala. 2006).

Analysis

Alabama's Wrongful Death Act, § 6-5-410, provides that only "[a] personal representative may commence an action" alleging wrongful death. § 6-5-410(a). The thrust of Northport's petition is that administrators ad colligendum are not "personal representatives." According to Northport, because Anders was appointed as an administrator ad colligendum Anders could not bring the suit and the action was a nullity. And, Northport further asserts, because no properly appointed personal representative brought suit within the two-year limitations period in § 6-5-410, the cause of action was extinguished. See Ex parte FMC Corp., 599 So.2d 592, 594 (Ala. 1992). We agree.

A. An Administrator ad Colligendum Is Not a "Personal Representative" Within the Meaning of § 6-5-410(a)

Section 6-5-410(a) provides that only a "personal representative" may bring a wrongful-death action, but it does not define who counts as one. "[W]hen a term is not defined in a statute, the commonly accepted definition of that term should be applied." Bean Dredging, L.L.C. v. Alabama Dep't of Revenue, 855 So.2d 513, 517 (Ala. 2003). In accordance with that principle, this Court has interpreted "personal representative" to "only mean the executor or administrator." Downtown Nursing Home, Inc. v. Pool, 375 So.2d 465, 466 (Ala. 1979) (emphasis added); see also Hatas v. Partin, 175 So.2d 759, 761 (Ala. 1965) (same); accord Black's Law Dictionary 1557 (11th ed. 2019) (explaining that "personal representative" is either "an executor ... named in a will" or "an administrator ... not named in a will").

Executors and administrators serve the same function -- managing the estate of a decedent -- but are appointed differently. An executor can be appointed only by being named in the will of a decedent. § 43-2-20, Ala. Code 1975. On the other hand, the probate court can appoint an administrator when there is no will or the will does not name an executor. § 43-2-40, Ala. Code 1975. But a person cannot become an executor until the probate court issues letters testamentary; nor can a person become an administrator until the probate court issues letters of administration. Ex parte Smith, 619 So.2d 1374, 1376 (Ala. 1993).

The upshot is that only an executor or an administrator to whom the probate court has issued letters testamentary or letters of administration may commence a wrongful-death action, and he or she must do so within two years of the decedent's death. Because an executor must be named in the decedent's will, and because Sansing did not name Anders in his will, the only question here is whether Anders is an "administrator." And to answer that question, we must determine whether an administrator ad colligendum is an "administrator" such that he or she could bring a wrongful-death action as a personal representative under § 6-5-410(a).

An administrator ad colligendum is a "special administrator" whom a probate judge may appoint for "the specific purpose of collecting and preserving the assets of the estate when necessary." Ex parte Baker, 183 So.3d 139, 143 (Ala. 2015). Section 43-2-47(a), Ala. Code 1975, limits that role in duration -- it ends when "letters testamentary or of administration have been duly issued." This Court has also interpreted that statute to limit the position's scope of authority, see Baker, 183 So.3d at 143 (noting than an administrator ad colligendum "may take no action with regard to any estate matters other than what is permitted by § 43-2-47").

Consequently, unlike executors and administrators, an administrator ad colligendum cannot "initiate the general administration of [an] estate" or otherwise "deal with the duties and obligations of the administration of an estate." Id. Because of their "limited authority" as mere officers of the probate court, administrators ad colligendum are neither "administrators" nor "executors" of a decedent's estate. Id. Accordingly, they are not "personal representatives" under § 6-5-410. And because they are not personal representatives, administrators ad colligendum cannot bring suit under the Wrongful Death Act.

Anders nonetheless argues that administrators ad colligendum should fall within the purview of Wrongful Death Act because this Court permitted an administrator ad litem, another type of special administrator, to prosecute a wrongful-death action in Affinity Hospital, L.L.C. v. Williford, 21 So.3d 712 (Ala. 2009). Since administrators ad colligendum are likewise special administrators, Anders says, it follows that they can also bring wrongful-death actions.

Putting...