Claims filed too late in wrongful death suit, COA affirms

IL file photo

A father’s and grandmother’s wrongful death claims in a lawsuit involving the death of an 11-year-old girl were not filed in a timely manner, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Wednesday.

Isabelle Meyer died on June 24, 2019, after a tree fell and struck her at a camp operated by the Girl Scouts in Perry County.

According to court records, at the time, Cynthia Meyer, Isabelle’s grandmother, and her husband, Stanley Meyer, were the court-appointed guardians of the child.

On July 10, 2020, Amanda Peters, as Isabelle’s mother and personal representative of the child’s estate, filed a complaint against the Girl Scouts pursuant to the Child Wrongful Death Statute.

The Perry Circuit Court later granted Peters’ motion to amend the complaint to remove references to her as a personal representative.

The Girl Scouts filed a motion to dismiss the mother’s action due to her failure to join the father’s lawsuit for just adjudication under the Child Wrongful Death Statute and Indiana Trial Rule 19.

The organization argued that Peters failed to join Benjamin Brassard, Meyer’s father, in the legal  action, and that the action was subject to dismissal as a result of the mother’s failure.

In May 2023, the trial court granted the Girl Scouts’ motions to dismiss the father’s and grandmother’s claims.

Peters filed a motion to certify the order for interlocutory appeal under Indiana Appellate Rule 14, which the trial court granted.

The appellate court accepted interlocutory jurisdiction and affirmed the trial court’s dismissal, finding that the father and grandmother failed to file timely claims within the two-year period prescribed by the CWDS.

Judge Elizabeth Tavitas wrote the opinion for the appellate court.

Tavitas pointed out that neither the father nor grandmother responded to the motions to dismiss, but both are automatically parties to this appeal pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 17(A).

Neither, however, filed an appearance or presented arguments on appeal.

“Although the order at issue dismissed Father and Grandmother, the Notice of Appeal was filed by Mother’s counsel. Throughout the Appellant’s Brief, Mother identifies herself as the Appellant, but all of Mother’s arguments on appeal relate to the dismissal of Grandmother’s and Father’s claims; none of the arguments on appeal relate to Mother’s claims,” Tavitas wrote.

Tavitas noted that it was unclear how Peters can assert the rights or legal interests of Brassard and Cynthia Meyer in the case.

Isabelle died on June 24, 2019 and Peters filed her action on July 10, 2020, which was well within the two-year CWDS time constraint.

Peters added Brassard as a defendant in November 2020, but service was not made upon Brassard until July 2021 and he did not file an answer until Aug. 9, 2021.

“Accordingly, although Father was added as a defendant well within the two years, service of the complaint and his answer were not made until after the two-year time constraint expired. As for Grandmother, she was not added as a defendant until June 2022, well after the two-year time period, and she has never answered or filed an appearance in this litigation,” Tavitas wrote.

Despite the addition of the father and grandmother as parties to the litigation, Peters argued that it was unnecessary for Brassard and Cynthia Meyer to file a claim in the action until the case was ready for settlement or trial.

Tavitas wrote that Peters’ argument is inconsistent with the appellate court’s basic trial rules and procedures.

“We are aware of no authority for the proposition that a party claiming damages from the defendant may simply show up any time before settlement or trial and assert a right to damages,” Tavitas wrote.

Finally, Tavitas reiterated that neither the father nor the grandmother asserted their claims within the CWDS’s two-year time constraint, and Peters presented no relevant authority for the proposition that Brassard’s and Meyer’s claims were timely simply because the mother’s complaint was timely.

Judges Rudolph Pyle and Peter Foley concurred.

The case is Amanda Peters, as Natural Parent of Isabelle Meyer, Deceased, v. Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana, Inc., Girl Scouts of the United States of America, Inc., Benjamin Brassard, and Cynthia Meyer, 23A-CT-1342.