8.01-55 - Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act.
§ 8.01-55. Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act.
The personal representative of the deceased may compromise any claim todamages arising under or by virtue of § 8.01-50, including claims under theprovision of a liability insurance policy, before or after an action isbrought, with the approval of the court in which the action was brought, orif an action has not been brought, with the consent of any circuit court.Such approval may be applied for on petition to such court, by the personalrepresentative, or by any potential defendant, or by any interested insurancecarrier. If a potential defendant or any insurance carrier petitions thecourt for approval, the personal representative shall be made a party to theproceeding. The petition shall state the compromise, its terms and the reasontherefor. The court shall require the convening of the parties in interest inperson or by their authorized representative, but it shall not be necessaryto convene grandchildren whose living parents are made parties to theproceeding. The parties in interest shall be deemed to be convened if eachsuch party (i) endorses the order by which the court approves the compromiseor (ii) is given notice of the hearing and proposed compromise as provided in§ 8.01-296 if a resident of the Commonwealth or as provided in § 8.01-320 ifa nonresident, or is otherwise given reasonable notice of the hearing andproposed compromise as may be required by the court.
If the court approves the compromise, and the parties in interest do notagree upon the distribution to be made of what has been or may be received bythe personal representative under such compromise, or if any of them areincapable of making a valid agreement, the court shall direct suchdistribution as a jury might direct under § 8.01-52 as to damages awarded bythem. In other respects, what is received by the personal representativeunder the compromise shall be treated as if recovered by him in an actionunder § 8.01-52.
(Code 1950, § 8-639; 1960, cc. 35, 587; 1977, c. 617; 1981, c. 286; 1991, c.97; 1995, c. 366.)