Newman v. Sathyavaglswaran, M.D.

287 F.3d 786 (9th Cir. 2002)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Robert Newman (P) and Barbara Obarski (P) each had children, Richard Newman, and Kenneth Obarski respectively, who died in Los Angeles County in October 1997. Following their deaths, the Office of the Coroner for the County of Los Angeles (the coroner) obtained possession of the bodies of the children and, under procedures adopted pursuant to California Government Code § 27491.47 as it then existed, removed the corneas from those bodies without the knowledge of the parents and without an attempt to notify them and request consent. Ps filed this §1983 action alleging a deprivation of their property without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. D filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, arguing that the parents could not have a property interest in their deceased children's corneas. The district court granted the motion to dismiss prior to a scheduled hearing and without a written opinion explaining the basis for the dismissal. This appeal resulted.