Janus v. Tarasewicz
482 N.E.2d 418 (111. 1985).

Facts: This declaratory judgment action arose out of the deaths of a husband and wife who died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. Stanley Janus was pro¬nounced dead shortly after he was admitted to the hospital. However, Theresa Janus was placed on life support systems for almost two days before being pronounced dead. Claiming that there was not sufficient evidence that Theresa Janus survived her husband, Stanley's mother (P) brought this action for the proceeds of Stanley's $ 100,000 life insurance policy, which named Theresa as the primary beneficiary and P as the contingent beneficiary. MI= metro insurance(Dl) paid the proceeds to Tarwicz (D2), who is Theresa's father and the administrator of her estate. The TC found sufficient evidence that Theresa survived Stanley. P and the administrator of Stanley's estate appealed, contending that there is not sufficient evidence to prove that both victims did not suffer brain death prior to their arrival at the hospital.

Issue: In a factually disputed case of whether one spouse survived the other, is the appellate court's review limited to whether the trial court's finding was against the manifest weight of the evidence?

Holding: Yes. Judgment affirmed.

Analysis:

-A civil case is governed by the law as it exists when a judgment is rendered, not when the facts underlying the case occur. Even though In re Haymer, which set forth standards for determining when legal death occurs, was decided after the deaths in issue, the trial court properly applied the Haymer standards. Furthermore, application of those standards was not unfair since the treating physicians had made pertinent diagnoses at the time of the deaths and the parties presented evidence relevant under the standards. Survivorship is a fact that must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence by the party whose claim depends on survivorship. In cases where survivorship is determined by the testimony of lay witnesses, the , burden of sufficient evidence may be met by evidence of a positive sign of life in one body and the absence of any such sign in the other. In cases where the death process is monitored by medical professionals, their testimony as to the usual and customary standards of medical practice are highly relevant when considering what constitutes a positive sign of life and what constitutes a criterion for determining death.