Abraugh v. Altimus

Mother filed suit over suicide of her son in maximum security facility; mother lacked “prudential standing” to bring survival or wrongful death action under Louisiana law because the existence of a person in a higher class of survivors (here, deceased’s wife and daughter) disables person in lower class of survivors from bringing suit; nonetheless, mother had standing under Article III to bring § 1983 action because a parent may sue over the death of a child, and also because mother was the administrator of her son’s estate; standing in federal court is determined by Article III and does not depend on whether standing exists under state law.