Opinion ID: 768198
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Municipal Liability Under 1983

Text: 37 In a suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, a municipality may not be held liable on a theory of respondeat superior. See, e.g., Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. at 694. It may,however, be held liable if the conduct that caused the unconstitutional deprivation was undertaken pursuant to 38 a policy statement, ordinance, regulation, or decision officially adopted and promulgated by that body's officers[,] ...[or] pursuant to governmental custom even though such a custom has not received formal approval through the body's official decision-making channels. 39 Id. at 690-91. The municipality cannot properly be held liable in such an action unless the injury was inflicted by [its] 'lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy.' St. Louis v. Praprotnik, 485 U.S. 112, 121-22 (1988) (plurality opinion) (quoting Monell, 436 U.S. at 694). 40 Where the contention is not that the actions complained of were taken pursuant to a local policy that was formally adopted or ratified but rather that they were taken or caused by an official whose actions represent official policy, the court must determine whether that official had final policymaking authority in the particular area involved. See, e.g., Jett v. Dallas Independent School District, 491 U.S. 701, 737 (1989); Praprotnik, 485 U.S. at 123-25 (plurality opinion). It does not suffice for these purposes that the official has been granted discretion in the performance of his duties. See, e.g., id. at 127. [O]nly those municipal officials who have 'final policymaking authority' may by their actions subject the government to 1983 liability. Id. at 123 (quoting Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 483 (1986) (plurality opinion)). 41 Whether the official in question possessed final policymaking authority is a legal question, see, e.g., Jett, 491 U.S. at 737; Praprotnik, 485 U.S. at 124 (plurality opinion), which is to be answered on the basis of state law, see, e.g., McMillian v. Monroe County, 520 U.S. 781, 786 (1997) (proper understanding of the actual function of a governmental official, in a particular area, will necessarily be dependent on the definition of the official's functions under relevant state law); Jett, 491 U.S. at 737; Praprotnik, 485 U.S. at 123 (plurality opinion). [T]he relevant legal materials, includ[e] state and local positive law, as well as custom or usage having the force of law. Jett, 491 U.S. at 737 (internal quotation marks omitted). The matter of whether the official is a final policymaker under state law is to be resolved by the trial judge before the case is submitted to the jury. Id. (emphasis in original). 42 Most important for this appeal, the official in question need not be a municipal policymaker for all purposes. Rather, with respect to the conduct challenged, he must be responsible under state law for making policy in that area of the [municipality's] business. Praprotnik, 485 U.S. at 123 (emphasis added); see, e.g., Jett, 491 U.S. at 737 (must have the power to make official policy on a particular issue) (emphasis added); Pembaur, 475 U.S. at 481 (plurality opinion) (must possess[] final authority to establish municipal policy with respect to the action ordered) (emphasis added). Thus, the court must ask whether [the] governmental official [is a] final policymaker[] for the local government in a particular area, or on [the] particular issue involved in the action. McMillian, 520 U.S. at 785. 43 In sum, the question of whether a given official is the municipality's final policymaking official in a given area is a matter of law to be decided by the court. Where a plaintiff relies not on a formally declared or ratified policy, but rather on the theory that the conduct of a given official represents official policy, it is incumbent on the plaintiff to establish that element as a matter of law. We thus reject plaintiffs' contention that the district court erred in imposing that burden on them; and we turn to the question of whether, as to the particular area at issue here, the burden was met. 44