Section 1983 Litigation/Survivorship and Wrongful Death
Survivorship[edit | edit source]
Survivorship of § 1983 claims is not covered by federal law. In Robertson v. Wegmann,[1] the Supreme Court held that to remedy this deficiency, 42 U.S.C. § 1988(a) requires federal courts to borrow state survivorship law, so long as it is not inconsistent with the policies of § 1983.[2] The Court identified the policies underlying § 1983 as including “compensation of persons injured by deprivation of federal rights and prevention of abuses of power by those acting under color of state law.”[3] It ruled, however, that the mere fact that the particular § 1983 claim abates under state law does not mean that the state law is inconsistent with the policies of § 1983. Rather, whether state survivorship law is compatible with the policies of § 1983 depends on whether that state law is generally hospitable to the survival of § 1983 claims.[4] The Court held that the Louisiana law was not inconsistent with the policies of § 1983 despite causing the particular § 1983 claim to abate.[5] However, it indicated that the result might be different if the “deprivation of federal right caused death.”[6]
Wrongful Death[edit | edit source]
The Supreme Court has not resolved whether a wrongful death claim may be brought under § 1983. There is considerable disagreement on this issue in the lower courts.[7] Some courts have viewed the absence of a federal § 1983 wrongful death policy as a deficiency in federal law and, under § 1988(a), have borrowed state wrongful death law.[8] Other courts have inquired whether the defendant’s conduct, which caused a death, violated the constitutionally protected rights of a surviving relative.[9] There is also scholarship supporting the argument that § 1983 itself authorizes a wrongful death remedy.[10] Of course, the § 1983 plaintiff may attempt to assert a state law wrongful death claim under the federal court’s supplemental jurisdiction.[11]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 436 U.S. 584 (1978).
- ↑ Id. at 590. When applying state survival law, a federal court must analogize the § 1983 claim to the most analogous state law claims. Benz v. City of Kendallville, 577 F.3d 776, 779 (7th Cir. 2009).
- ↑ Robertson, 436 U.S. at 591.
- ↑ Id. at 591–93. See, e.g., Banks v. Yokemick, 177 F. Supp. 2d 239, 249–50 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) (New York survivorship law, which denies recovery for loss of enjoyment of life, is inconsistent with § 1983 policies of compensation and deterrence).
- ↑ Robertson, 436 U.S. at 591–93. In Estate of Gilliam v. City of Prattville, 639 F.3d 1041 (11th Cir. 2011), the court held that Alabama survivorship law, under which unfiled personal injury claims do not survive the death of an injured party, is not inconsistent with the policies of § 1983. There was no evidence that defendant-officers’ use of force caused decedent’s death, and Alabama law applied uniformly and did not target § 1983 claims.
In the vast majority of cases, applying Alabama law through § 1988(a) will compensate the constitutionally injured and impose liability on those state officials who violate the Constitution. First, when an injured party actually files a § 1983 action and later dies, that action will survive death. . . . Second, when a constitutional violation actually causes the injured party’s death, a § 1983 claim can be asserted through the Alabama wrongful death statute. . . .
Id. at 1047.
- ↑ Robertson, 436 U.S. at 594. See, e.g., Chaudhry v. City of L.A., 751 F.3d 1096, 1103–05 (9th Cir. 2014) (California law denying recovery for decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering inconsistent with § 1983’s deterrence policies).
- ↑ See, e.g., Carringer v. Rodgers, 331 F.3d 844, 850 n.9 (11th Cir. 2003) (“right to wrongful death recovery under § 1983 has generated considerable debate amongst our sister circuits”).
- ↑ See, e.g., Brazier v. Cherry, 293 F.2d 401, 404–06 (5th Cir. 1961).
- ↑ See, e.g., Trujillo v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs, 768 F.2d 1186, 1189–90 (10th Cir. 1985).
- ↑ See Steven H. Steinglass, Wrongful Death Actions and Section 1983, 60 Ind. L.J. 559 (1985). The various § 1983 wrongful death theories are discussed in 1B Martin A. Schwartz, Section 1983 Litigation: Claims and Defenses §§ 13.03–13.07 (4th ed. 2014).
- ↑ 28 U.S.C. § 1367. See supra Chapter 1.
