In a shocking twist, the Utah woman who accidentally killed her husband in a car crash, then sued herself as the representative of her husband’s estate as a result of the car crash, won before the Utah Supreme Court last month. The ruling, which seems so absurd, confirms that the legal “absurdity doctrine” did not apply to the situation.

Although the Utah woman was at fault for the accident, her role as the executor of her husband’s estate essentially makes her a third party acting on behalf of her husband’s estate. So while for the sake of appearances it looks like she is suing herself, it is actually her late husband’s estate that is suing her. The estate collects any settlement or verdict, and would distribute the funds with the rest of the late husband’s assets.

Isn’t There a Conflict of Interest?

While it would seem that there would be conflict of interest for the wife, the anatomy of a car accident case makes this scenario seem less outlandish. Generally, the person who caused the car accident, doesn’t have much to do with the process of defending the case.

While the legal system can allow some odd situations to arise, this one is a rare gem. Generally, there are prohibitions against collecting insurance money if you caused the accident, for instance, a wife that murders her husband will not be legally allowed to collect the insurance proceeds of the husband’s life insurance. However, in this case, as the accident was not intentional and was a result of negligence, most life insurance policies would not prohibit the wife from collecting the proceeds.

Related Resources:

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  • Oregon Militia Occupiers Acquitted: What Happened? (FindLaw’s Decided)
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