Sam C. Ellis and Robert Lee Ellis v. Edward Earl Brown

Fannie Lee Ellis was struck by an automobile driven by the defendant, appellee here, Edward Earl Brown, and died a few hours later on the same day. Thereafter, two suits were instituted by her husband, appellant here. One action was filed by him, as husband, under the Wrongful Death Act, ?? 768.01, 768.02, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., to recover the damages alleged to have been personally sustained by him as a result of her death; the other was filed by him, as co-administrator of the estate of Fannie Lee Ellis, under the Survival Statute, Section 45.11, to recover damages for his decedents loss of earnings for her probable life expectancy or the loss of her probable prospective estate. It is the latter suit which is here on appeal, the lower court having dismissed the complaint for failure to state a cause of action.