Smith v. Premier Alliance Insurance

Plaintiffs and appellants Jerri Lynn Smith and Adrian Paul Faskas appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of defendant and respondent Premier Alliance Insurance Company (Premier). In the published portion of this opinion, we conclude a defendant in a wrongful death action owes no duty to nonsettling heirs not to settle with only one of the heirs. In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we address the appeal of plaintiffs and their attorney, Huey P. Shepard, from an award of sanctions against them for bringing and prosecuting a frivolous lawsuit, and Premier’s request for sanctions for the prosecution of a frivolous appeal. We affirm, but deny the request for sanctions on appeal.

Facts and Procedural Background

Paul Faskas died as a result of injuries he sustained in a plane crash on July 1, 1985. He was survived by his wife, Sharon Faskas (Wife); and plaintiffs, his two children from a previous marriage (Children). On June 19, 1986, Wife brought a wrongful death action against John Dubos, the pilot of the plane, Beech Aircraft Corporation, the manufacturer of the plane; and others. Wife did not name Children as plaintiffs in that action, but rather named…