Imagine a common scenario: A wrongful death case where the decedent leaves behind a spouse, two children, and a third adult child from a prior marriage (a blended family dynamic that is hardly unusual in the 21st century). How will the losses of these four people be compensated? The Pattern Jury Instruction (PJI) for wrongful death damages, PJI 2:320, provides two sets of instructions; one to itemize the damages for the four distributees, and a second separate modification if your case happens to fall within the jurisdiction of the Second Department. The PJI Commentary suggests that dicta in a Second Department decision, Carter v. New York City Health & Hosps. Corp., 47 A.D.3d 661 (2d Dept. 2008), created this split by requiring one lump sum award for four different people instead of compensating our hypothetical family individually.
A more nuanced look beyond the PJI, however, reveals that there exists no true split. Beyond the single instance of dicta from Carter, the Second Department has never taken up the lump sum approach, and the Court of Appeals in its own dicta subsequently criticized lump sum awards as contrary to the CPLR and frustrating meaningful appellate review. Furthermore, this approach does nothing more than create additional cost and work and disputes for plaintiffs and defendants alike.
The “Split” On Pecuniary Awards
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