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The dead can indeed rest in peace, even if they left behind a negligent hazard in the garage.
A three-judge panel rejected an appeal yesterday by a man who sued Walter Rich four months after his death. The plaintiff, Brian Sullivan, an old friend who attended a barbecue at Rich's Attleboro home in July 2003, tripped on a 55-gallon drum buried in the garage, tearing his right rotator cuff.
The state Appeals Court ruled that even if Rich, a passionate mechanic, created the hazard by digging the hole as he tinkered with cars, he cannot be held accountable after he is gone.
"Walter's duty of care, as with all other worldly cares, ceased with his death and does not extend beyond the grave," wrote Judge Joseph A. Grasso Jr. in the opinion for the court.
Strange as it may seem, the case set a precedent: limiting culpability for a negligent act to events that occurred during a person's lifetime.
"I told the appellate judges if you allow this action to go forward, the phrase 'rest in peace' would be obsolete," said John T. Murray, the attorney who successfully argued against the appeal.
The complicated case was a struggle between Sullivan and Rich's insurance company. Rich, 40, was one of 100 people killed in the Station Nightclub fire in February 2003. He grew up in Attleboro, directly across Dunham Street from Sullivan.
"It's not like I was going after Wally's estate," Sullivan said yesterday by phone. "I was going after the insurance company. I was over at [his widow's] house cheering her up."
Sullivan, 43, who had been grilling hotdogs and hamburgers, went into the garage and fell. While recuperating, he began dating Rich's widow - Kimberly Rich, 39 - and the couple married Nov. 13, 2004, three months after the suit was filed.
"I feel bad for my now husband," said Kimberly Sullivan, who encouraged her spouse to file the lawsuit. "He was there doing a good deed and suffered a horrible injury. What is the purpose of having homeowner's insurance if it is not going to cover somebody who gets hurt on your property?"
Sullivan filed a claim with Commerce Insurance Co. and said he was told he was eligible for $1,000. That wouldn't cover the $37,000 he spent for physical therapy and other medical bills not paid by his insurance company, Sullivan said. Or the $43,000-a-year job he lost while recovering from the injury.
"I don't want anybody to get the impression that I'm a bad guy," Sullivan said. "I lost a good job and I was injured and I thought I deserved some money for pain and suffering."
Kimberly is the executor of Walter's estate. That meant the lawsuit listed Brian Sullivan as the plaintiff and Kimberly Rich as the defendant. Legally, a husband was suing his wife.
"It's not like I wanted to sue Kim," Sullivan said. "I wanted to sue the insurance company."
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
