Williams v. Superior Court

In this writ proceeding, a father challenges the trial court’s appointment of the maternal grandmother as the guardian ad litem for his minor daughters in their wrongful death action to recover for their mother’s death in an automobile collision. The father contends the court’s appointment of the maternal grandmother violated his fundamental rights to the care, custody and control of his children. We conclude the contention is without merit. Because the father elected to bring an action on behalf of his daughters and had a conflict of interest with his daughters because he also sought his own recovery, the court’s selection of a qualified guardian ad litem did not improperly interfere with the father’s rights, even if the father would have preferred his own parents to serve in that role.

FACTS

Jennifer Williams was killed when her car was struck head-on by a tow truck. At the time of the accident, Jennifer was married to Bradley Williams (Father), but they had been living separately for approximately five months. The couple’s two young daughters, Lauren (age eight) and Victoria (age four), were living with Jennifer. Father was paying child support and visited frequently…