George W. Butcher v. Mary R. Maffeo, as Administratrix With the Will Attached of the Estate of Royal S. Reed

This is an appeal from an order of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona dismissing appellant’s action against the appellee, the Arizona administratrix of the Estate of Royal S. Reed, to recover for personal injuries caused Butcher in Wyoming by Reed’s alleged negligence while driving an automobile in Wyoming.

The administratrix admits that Wyoming’s Compiled Statutes, § 3-402, creates a substantial right in Butcher to recover from the estate of a deceased person damages inflicted on Butcher by the deceased person prior to the latter’s death. In Arizona there is no such provision. There the common law rule is still in effect and the cause of action dies with the tort feasor.

The question then is what is the law of Arizona with regard to Butcher’s right to sue the Arizona administratrix on this substantial Wyoming right. The Arizona Supreme Court has not decided this question and it is for this court to determine what its decision should be.

That court has said repeatedly that whenever possible it would follow the Restatement of the Law “feeling that by so doing uniformity of decision would be more nearly effected.” Section 390 of the Restatement of…