§ 1052 Actions which abate on death of party.

If someone dies while a lawsuit is going on, the case usually does not just end. It keeps going even though one of the parties has passed away. Someone else, like the executor of the deceased person's estate, can step in and continue the case.

There is one main exception. If the lawsuit is about libel, slander, or malicious prosecution, and the defendant (the person being sued) dies, the case does end. These types of cases are tied closely to the person being sued, so the law says the case cannot continue without them.

However, there is an exception to this exception. If the jury has already reached a verdict, or if a judge has already made a decision in a case tried without a jury, the case does not end just because the defendant died. The only way it would end at that point is if the court orders a new trial. In that situation, the case would start over, and the death of the defendant would then cause it to end under the general rule.