Opinion ID: 160971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: City of Lawton, Oklahoma

Text: The district court dismissed Crudup’s complaint against the City of Lawton under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. We review the dismissal of a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) de novo. See Hunt v. Uphoff, 199 F.3d 1220, 1223 (10th Cir. 1999). Dismissal of a pro se complaint for failure to state a claim is proper only where it is obvious that the plaintiff cannot prevail on the facts he has alleged and it would be futile to give him an opportunity to amend. In determining whether dismissal is proper, we must accept the allegations of the complaint as true and we must construe those allegations, and any reasonable inferences that might be drawn from them, in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Further, we must liberally construe the allegations of a pro se complaint. Perkins v. Kansas Dep’t of Corr., 165 F.3d 803, 806 (10th Cir. 1999) (citations omitted). The district court construed Crudup’s claim against Lawton as resting solely on its status as Southerland’s employer, and dismissed the complaint reasoning that a city cannot be liable for the acts of its employees under § 1983 because of respondeat superior alone. (Doc. 46 at 5.) See Board of County Comm’rs v. Bryan County, Oklahoma, 520 U.S. 397, 405 (1996); Monell v. New York City Dep’t of Soc. Serv., 436 U.S. 658, 690-91 (1978). We agree, and -3- therefore affirm the district court’s order dismissing Crudup’s claim against the City of Lawton.