Opinion ID: 443256
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: survival of dolphus bell's section 1983 and conspiracy claims

Text: 186 Patrick Bell, Sr., as administrator of the estates of Daniel and Dolphus Bell, sought at trial on behalf of Dolphus' estate to recover for those injuries suffered by Dolphus Bell, namely, his loss of the society and companionship of his son, Daniel Bell's funeral expenses, and the deprivation of due process and equal protection Dolphus Bell allegedly suffered as a result of the conspiracy. The district court allowed the jury to consider these claims, the jury returning a special verdict in favor of Dolphus Bell's estate on each claim. The court rejected defendants' contention that Dolphus Bell's claims do not survive his death according to the Wisconsin survival statute Section 895.01. Bell III, 536 F.Supp. 462, 467-468. Because the recovery for the funeral expenses is not disputed on appeal, and defendants do not appeal the district court's holding that Dolphus Bell's conspiracy claim survives his death, we need consider only the survivability of the Section 1983 claim for loss of society and companionship. 187 The district court based its holding that Dolphus Bell's Section 1983 claim survives his death on Wisconsin statutory and case law. Wis.Stat. Sec. 895.01 states that [i]n addition to the causes of action which survive at common law, many others, including those for invasion of privacy and damage to the person, also survive. Regarding Dolphus Bell's Section 1983 claim, his alleged injury is the loss of society and companionship of his son. The district court determined that a Wisconsin court considering the question could reasonably view Dolphus Bell's loss of the companionship and association as an invasion of privacy; hence the claim would survive Dolphus Bell. Alternatively, the court noted that in Wangen v. Ford Motor Co., 97 Wis.2d 260, 317, 294 N.W.2d 437, 465 (1980), the Wisconsin Supreme Court characterized a parent's injury of loss of society and companionship as a personal injury right[ ] of action, which also survives under Wis.Stat. Sec. 895.01. Although the court's statement in Wangen was made not in the context of survivability but rather in the context of punitive damages considerations, it is undeniable that the Wisconsin Supreme Court takes the position that losses of society and companionship are a type of personal injury. 43 We therefore affirm the holding that Dolphus Bell's Section 1983 claim survives by virtue of Wis.Stat. Sec. 895.01. (The statutory conflict between survival statute Section 895.01 and wrongful death statute Section 895.04(2) which would operate to reduce or extinguish the claim is discussed in Part VII C infra. ) 188 The doctrinal basis of Dolphus Bell's Section 1983 and conspiracy claims will now be addressed, in conjunction with the discussion of the claims of Daniel Bell's siblings. The Section 1983 claims will be considered first. 189