Sykes v. Propane Power Corp.
New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division
541 A.2d 271 (1988)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
William Sykes was killed by an explosion at the power plant at which he worked. Barbara Sykes (plaintiff) brought a wrongful-death suit against Propane Power Corporation and others (Propane Power) (defendants). Barbara and William were not legally married but had lived together for 22 years, had four children together, and held themselves out as husband and wife. The trial court granted Propane Power’s motion to dismiss Barbara’s claims. Propane Power’s motion was based on New Jersey’s Wrongful Death Act, which provided that wrongful-death benefits were awarded only to those persons entitled to take the decedent’s intestate property. Under New Jersey law, only a surviving spouse who was legally married to the decedent was entitled to take the decedent’s intestate property. Barbara appealed, arguing that the law denied her equal protection under the law.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Michaels, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
