James Davenport, as Administrator of the Estate of Pauline Davenport v. J. C. Webb, Sr., Doing Business under the…

Summary

The Court affirmed the appellate division's judgment striking the addition of prejudgment interest in a wrongful‑death action that occurred in Maryland, holding that New York's Section 132 of the Decedent Estate Law does not apply to actions based on torts occurring outside the state. The decision rests on conflicts‑of‑law principles that treat the measure of damages as substantive law of the place of injury. A dissent argued that the statute should apply regardless of lex loci delicti, while a concurrence agreed with the result but emphasized the lack of New York public policy barring application of Maryland law.