The Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld the decision to prevent Bryan and Mary Martin from bringing a wrongful death suit in the Carl DeBrodie case.
Judge Gary D. Witt ruled Tuesday the Callaway County Court was right in its July 2 decision.
The Martins, who were DeBrodie's legal guardians and caregivers for several years, sought to be named equitably adopted parents for purposes of bringing a wrongful death suit.
The Martins attempted to adopt the developmetally disabled DeBrodie when he was 25, but the petition was rejected by the Circuit Court of Cole County. The legal battle dragged from 2011-14. Witt described the case's legal background as "somewhat tortured."
Under Missouri's wrongful death statute, equitable parents lack standing to bring a claim for the wrongful death of an equitably adopted child as members of the first class, Witt said. Even were the court to declare the Martins to be equitable adoptive parents of DeBrodie, DeBrodie's "first class" relatives had the greater standing to bring the claim, he ruled.
"We recognize that the Martins shared a close familial like relationship with DeBrodie and viewed their role as his de facto parents," Witt stated. "They took him into their home and raised him through most of his formative years and clearly cared deeply for him. Missouri's wrongful death statute does not, however, encompass all parties who grieve the loss of an individual."
Carolyn Summers, DeBrodie's mother, and Carolyn Samson, DeBrodie's aunt, brought a civil suit against numerous defendants involved in DeBrodie's care in January 2018. The suit was settled in October and the terms finalized in December, with Samson and Summers receiving an undisclosed amount of money. The Martins attempted to intervene in that suit but were dismissed.
The Martins filed their own wrongful death suit April 9, 2018, claiming as "psychological, 'de facto'" parents of DeBrodie they should be among the beneficiaries entitled to participating in the wrongful death suit.
As of Witt's decision, respondents in the suit included Summers, Samson and Second Chance Homes of Fulton (an assisted living facility where DeBrodie lived prior to his death). Following filing an appeal after the Callaway County decision, the Martins moved to dismiss Second Chance Homes as a defendant in the appeal. Witt granted that motion.
DeBrodie was 31 years old when his remains were found hidden in a Fulton storage unit April 24, 2017, about a week after he was reported missing from Second Chance.