Pluet v. Frazier

PUBLISHED Fredrick Pluet, deceased, was arrested in Austin, Travis County, Texas and placed in the Travis County Jail on December 26, 1999. Upon his arrival and throughout the rest of the night, Pluet advised the jailers and medical staff that he had swallowed eight rocks of cocaine shortly before his arrest and needed medical attention. No treatment was provided and Fredrick Pluet died from acute cocaine toxicity. Sandra Hardeman is the managing conservator for Kenneth Pluet, a minor child and alleged son of Fredrick Pluet. Hardeman filed suit against multiple members of the Travis County sheriff's department alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, and 1988 (the federal Civil Rights Statutes) and various state laws. The defendants offered to settle. As part of the settlement negotiations, the parties agreed that Kenneth Pluet would undergo genetic paternity testing. This testing conclusively demonstrated that Fredrick Pluet was not Kenneth Pluet's biological father. The defendants moved for summary judgment alleging that, in light of the genetic test results, Hardeman did not have standing. The district court found that Hardeman did not have standing to assert the federal claims in her complaint. Based upon that finding, the district court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over the case, granted defendants' motion for summary judgment, and dismissed Hardeman's complaint without prejudice. Hardeman then filed a motion for new trial, which the district court denied. Hardeman appeals the district court's grant of the defendants' summary judgment motion.2