Ray v. Ready

Record No: 180060 Ray v. Ready 12/20/2018 (As published by the Virginia Supreme Court) In a widow’s action to claim an elective share of the augmented estate of her deceased husband, the complaint naming his “Estate” was a nullity and could not toll the running of the statute of limitations on that claim. Even though the complaint against the “Estate” was served on the personal representative, it was a nullity, not curable by amendment to insert the personal representative as a defendant, and it was not saved by the provisions of Code § 8.01-6.3 because the complaint, read as a whole, did not otherwise identify the personal representative. Thus, the circuit court did not err in denying the plaintiff’s motion to amend the complaint to name the personal representative, or in dismissing the action as time-barred. The judgment is affirmed.