Opinion ID: 447996
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Retroactive Application of Monell

Text: 12 The City claims that it is immune from liability in a suit by Tosti because the alleged discriminatory acts occurred in 1970, eight years prior to the Supreme Court's recognition of a section 1983 cause of action against a municipality. In Monell, the Court overruled its earlier decision in Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 81 S.Ct. 473, 5 L.Ed.2d 492 (1961), in which the Court had held that a municipality is not a person within the meaning of section 1983. 2 However, we believe the Court's decision in Owen v. City of Independence, 445 U.S. 622, 100 S.Ct. 1398, 63 L.Ed.2d 673 (1980), requires retroactive application of Monell here. Owen brought a section 1983 suit based on actions by the City of Independence which occurred in 1972, six years before the Monell decision. The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, relying on Monroe, held, inter alia, that the City could not be liable under section 1983 because it was not a person within the meaning of that statute. Owen, 560 F.2d 925, 931 (8th Cir.1977). While a petition for certiorari was pending, the Supreme Court decided Monell. The Court then remanded Owen for further consideration in light of Monell. On remand the court of appeals held that the City was entitled to qualified immunity, although otherwise it could be held liable as a person under section 1983 for acts occurring prior to the Monell decision. Owen, 589 F.2d 335, 338 (8th Cir.1978). On the second appeal the Supreme Court, without specific discussion of retroactivity, applied Monell to Owen's section 1983 claim, focusing its opinion on the question whether Monell 's abrogation of absolute immunity precluded any form of limited immunity for local governments. It concluded that the City was not entitled to limited immunity. Owen, 445 U.S. at 635-38, 100 S.Ct. at 1407-09. 13 The Court's retroactive application of Monell in Owen requires a similar application here. Like the plaintiff in Owen, Tosti brought a section 1983 claim against a municipality, based on actions by the City which took place before the Monell decision. The only distinction between the two cases is that an appeal was pending in Owen when Monell was decided, while Tosti filed her suit after the Monell decision. We do not believe this distinction is relevant to the retroactivity question; the crucial point is that in Owen, as in this case, the acts underlying the cause of action occurred before Monell, and yet the Supreme Court applied Monell. Therefore, we hold that Monell applies retroactively, and that the City cannot claim immunity.