The Estate of Abigail Caudle by its Personal Representative, Marianne Burke v. Criterion General Inc., an Alaska…

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of the Estate's wrongful death action against the general contractor and project owner. It held that extending workers' compensation exclusivity to those entities did not violate procedural due process because the Act provided some remedy through funeral benefits and the workers' compensation system had to be evaluated as a whole. It also held that the Estate failed to overcome the rational-basis presumption applicable to its substantive due process challenge. The court further concluded that no material factual disputes precluded summary judgment.