Estate of Cummings v. Davie
Annotate this CaseKristin Cummings, a twenty-five-year-old mother of two, committed suicide in her parents' home thirty-six hours after she had been discharged from Stephens Memorial Hospital, where she was acknowledged to have severe depression. The Estate of Kristin Cummings sued Kristin's parents, James and Jadzia Davie for negligence for failing to prevent Kristin's self-injurious behavior. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of the Davies. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that no special relationship existed between Kristin and her parents such that the law would impose upon the Davies a duty to prevent or inhibit their daughter's suicide, either by virtue of those special relationships that the Court had previously recognized in its duty of care jurisprudence or by the existence of a custodial relationship.
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