Kraus v. Board of County Road Commissioners case brief

Kraus v. Board of County Road Commissioners case brief summary
364 F.2d 919 (1966)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendant road commissioners applied for leave to take an interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1292(b) from an order of a United States district court, which in plaintiff administratrix's wrongful death action denied the road commissioners' renewed motion for summary judgment.

CASE FACTS
Following an auto accident which resulted in death, the decedent's administratrix brought wrongful death actions against the road commissioners.
The actions alleged that the road commissioners had failed to keep the roads where the accident occurred in reasonable repair, safe, and fit for public travel.
The road commissioners made a motion for summary judgment on the ground that the administratrix did not give written notice of claim within sixty days of the accident as provided by Michigan Statute.

DISCUSSION

• Ruled that the statute did not apply to an action for wrongful death.
• Overruled the motion and denied a renewed motion. 
• Denied the road commissioners' application to take an interlocutory appeal. 
• The case was not an exceptional case within the class of interlocutory appeals contemplated by 28 U.S.C.S. §1292(b). 
• The statute was not intended to authorize interlocutory appeals in ordinary suits for personal injuries or wrongful death that could be tried and disposed of on their merits in a few days.

CONCLUSION
The court denied the road commissioners' application for leave to appeal the district court's order denying the road commissioners' renewed motion for summary judgment in the administratrix's consolidated wrongful death actions.

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