Opinion ID: 2213266
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Governmental Entities Share in the Immunity of Their Staff Attorneys.

Text: Plaintiff forcefully argues that, because the theory of his claim against the three defendants, as governmental bodies, is not based on respondeat superior, the district court incorrectly concluded they are entitled to share in the immunity, if any, of the staff attorneys who requested the court to issue an order of commitment on plaintiff's 1977 contempt sentence. In Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978), the Court determined that respondeat superior is not a basis for rendering a governmental entity liable for constitutional violations committed by its employees. In order to establish liability of governmental entities under section 1983, it must be established that some official governmental policy or custom was a cause in fact of plaintiff's constitutional deprivation. Id. Because under Monell governmental entities are liable, if at all, for their own official actions rather than for the actions of their employees, immunity enjoyed by the employee is not material as to the liability of the governmental employer. With respect to whether the governmental entity enjoys some immunity in its own right, Monell clearly rejected any theory of absolute immunity for governmental entities. Moreover, Owen v. City of Independence, 445 U.S. 622, 100 S.Ct. 1398, 63 L.Ed.2d 673 (1980), serves, we believe, to abrogate any qualified immunity under the facts which plaintiff may be able to establish at trial. See Comment, Strict Liability Under Section 1983 for Municipal Deprivations of Federal Rights: Owen v. City of Independence, 55 St. John's L.Rev. 153 (1980). We therefore conclude the district court employed an improper ground for sustaining defendants' motion for summary judgment. Because, however, we also find that other valid bases for granting summary judgment were presented and considered by the district court, the judgment may nevertheless be affirmed on the alternative grounds hereafter considered.