A wrongful death claim in a civil suit filed against former President Donald Trump by Sandra Garza, the longtime partner of deceased U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, was dismissed by a federal judge Tuesday.
Sicknick died from a stroke one day after he was attacked with bear spray during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in court documents wrote that Garza could not claim damages associated under the Wrongful Death Act because she was not Sicknick's spouse or domestic partner.
"Garza does not allege that she and Officer Sicknick filed the requisite "declaration of domestic partnership" under District of Columbia law. Nor does she claim that they formed a domestic partnership under the law of any other jurisdiction," Mehta wrote.
"Her contention that a "domestic partnership" was established simply by Officer Sicknick having identified Garza as his "domestic partner" in his will finds no basis in the plain text of the statute. Garza therefore cannot recover the damages she personally seeks under the Act."
Still, Mehta allowed two counts of the lawsuit to proceed, including a claim that Trump and the two men accused of attacking Sicknick engaged in a conspiracy to "violate civil rights."
Mark S. Zaid, an attorney for Garza, in a statement said his client was "pleased to see that our lawsuit in pursuit of justice for the late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection, has been permitted to continue.
"We are now considering our next step options, to include deposing former President Trump," he added.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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