Newman ex rel. Newman v. Sathyavaglswaran

FISHER, Circuit Judge.

Parents, whose deceased children’s corneas were removed by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office without notice or consent, brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging a taking of their property without due process of law. The complaint was dismissed by the district court for a failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. We must decide whether the longstanding recognition in the law of California, paralleled by our national common law, that next of kin have the exclusive right to possess the bodies of their deceased family members creates a property…