In France, a woman was declared dead in 2017 even if she is still alive. She is now in court to prove she's alive. Legally one needs to be alive to have rights.
Declared dead despite being alive, Jeanne Pouchain, 58, has problems that are associated when one is legally deceased. For her to be alive when thought dead is much worse.
Ms. Pouchain is waging a rather uncanny court battle to reverse a declaration in 2017 that she was legally dead.
The bizarre legal drama began after a court of law based in Lyon declared that Jeanne Pouchain was already dead. One oddity is she was considered dead with no death certificate issued to her.
Getting declared dead came about after a ruling at the end of a legal dispute she was involved in. She used to work for a cleaning company, but she lost her job. Seeking compensation for her work lost is how everything began or ended her "life." But, the woman was not dead.
According to the Washington Post, the case reached the Court of Cassation. It is one of France's highest courts; in its opinion, her legality was not in its coverage.
It got worse when the Court of Cassation dropped her case. Pouchain and her counsel Sylvain Cormier remarked that collective errors committed by the court did not end well. The woman was declared dead by the Appeals Court of Lyon. It came as a shock to both client and lawyer how it happened, but she wants to prove she's alive.
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A newspaper, "France Bleu," stated the court decision is because of a former employee who had a run-in with the woman. This employee must have harbored ill-feeling and never checked for a death certificate, signed off Pouchain as dead.
She added that no summons was given to her or relatives asking for attendance in the court.
Later the court-ordered Pouchain's spouse, her son, to remit about €14,000 (£12,457).
To have a legal personality, one should be alive, not dead, declared dead while still very "Alive" has its drawbacks. The walking "dead woman," as the law says, has big problems.
If dead bank accounts are a problem, if one of the co-signees is dead, the live one cannot access the account no matter what. No bank account to her name, neither papers to prove who she is, lastly declared dead means no health insurance.
Spoke to the Associated Press, saying she does not exist anymore. Adding all she does is sit at the veranda and write.
The woman is too afraid to leave her home in Saint Joseph in Loire. Even her car got repossessed when her condition cannot allow her to contests unpaid debts. Being legally dead does not help anyone financially too.
French Bleu said that she went to see a lawyer who can help her be declared alive again. The lawyer claimed it could be fixed easily.
She is going to a doctor to get certified alive and kicking, though it is not sufficient. The Lyon court says she is dead, and the medical certificate is not valid enough.
Her lawyer Cormier started a motion to declare 2017 ruling a big mistake. The lawyer finds it unbelievable to have such an odd case in to handle.
Pouchain is declared dead, but she hopes the 2017 gets overturned to prove she's alive.
