§ 9-2-28.Effect of action by minor alone

Minors normally need a guardian or a next friend to sue on their behalf — an adult standing in to protect their interests through the litigation. But minors sometimes file suit on their own, without that protective structure in place, and this section decides what happens when they do.

The lawsuit is not void. That word choice matters: a void judgment is a nullity, treated as if it never existed, while a defective one can be fixed. This section places a minor’s solo lawsuit in the second category. The absence of a guardian or next friend is a defect, not a fatal flaw.

Better still for the minor plaintiff, the defect is amendable before verdict, meaning the court can add a guardian or next friend at any point before the jury or judge rules. And if nobody catches the problem before then, a verdict cures it anyway, closing off any later attempt to undo the judgment on that ground.