## Facts

- Anaheim police officers responded to a 911 call reporting a “suspicious person” near a laundromat; no weapon was reported.
- Officers observed Fermin Valenzuela inside the laundromat and believed he possessed drug paraphernalia; they also saw he had a screwdriver and appeared chemically impaired.
- Officers attempted to detain Valenzuela; he resisted, and a prolonged physical struggle occurred involving multiple officers, including a chokehold.
- Valenzuela died after the encounter; the death was ruled a homicide caused by asphyxia complications during the altercation, and Valenzuela had methamphetamine in his system.
- Valenzuela’s father and children sued the City and officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and California law, alleging excessive force and wrongful death.
- A jury awarded $13.2 million in total damages, including $3.6 million for Valenzuela’s “loss of life,” separate from pain and suffering.
- Defendants argued California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34 barred “loss of life” damages and should limit § 1983 recovery via 42 U.S.C. § 1988; the district court rejected the argument and upheld the award.

## Issues

1. Whether, in a § 1983 action for a death caused by a federal rights violation, California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34 may bar recovery of “loss of life” damages to the decedent’s estate.
2. Whether § 377.34’s restriction is “inconsistent” with the remedial and deterrent purposes of § 1983 under § 1988’s state-law borrowing rule.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment.
- The court held that, when a violation of federal law causes a decedent’s death, § 377.34’s prohibition on “loss of life” damages is inconsistent with § 1983 and therefore does not apply in the § 1983 action.
- The court upheld the jury’s damages award, including the $3.6 million “loss of life” component.
- Judge Lee dissented, arguing the court should not displace California’s survivorship damages limits to increase § 1983 damages.

## Legal Principles

- Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, state law may supply rules for civil rights remedies only if the state rule is not inconsistent with federal law and the policies of § 1983.
- In § 1983 cases where the constitutional violation causes death, state survivorship limits that materially reduce recoverable damages may be displaced if they undermine § 1983’s compensatory and deterrent purposes.
- Extending prior circuit precedent, the Ninth Circuit treated a state-law bar on “loss of life” survival damages as inconsistent with § 1983 in fatal-force cases because it would reduce accountability and deterrence in the most severe rights violations.
- The holding was limited to § 1983 claims in which the federal violation was a substantial causal factor in the decedent’s death.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit held that California’s statutory bar on a decedent’s “loss of life” survival damages cannot limit § 1983 recovery when a federal rights violation causes death, and it affirmed a jury verdict that included a separate award for the value of the decedent’s lost life.


Valenzuela v. City of Anaheim, 6 F.4th 1098 (9th Cir. 2021)