Opinion ID: 218507
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: UMC, the Board, and the Medical and Dental Staff

Text: Chudacoff also names three entity defendants: UMC; the Clark County Commissioners, in their official capacities as the UMC Board of Trustees; and the Medical and Dental Staff of UMC. Liability will lie against a municipal entity under § 1983 only if a plaintiff shows that his constitutional injury was caused by employees acting pursuant to an official policy or longstanding practice or custom, or that the injury was caused or ratified by an individual with final policy-making authority. Villegas v. Gilroy Garlic Festival Ass'n, 541 F.3d 950, 964 (9th Cir.2008) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see Monell, 436 U.S. at 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018. Chudacoff has established neither. Not only has he failed to identify any custom or policy of UMC or the Medical and Dental Staff as the moving force behind his constitutional injury, see Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of Bryan Cnty., Okla. v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 404, 117 S.Ct. 1382, 137 L.Ed.2d 626 (1997); Galen v. Cnty. of L.A., 477 F.3d 652, 667 (9th Cir.2007), but his entire claim against the individually named doctor defendants hinges on their alleged non compliance with the official policies and practices of the hospital. Nor has he established that an actor with final policymaking authority personally participated in his constitutional injury. Although the Board has final policy-and decision-making authority over the UMC Bylaws and the MEC's disciplinary actions, Chudacoff presents no evidence that any Trustee took part in the deprivation of his due process rights. The Board's role in staff privilege matters is limited to appellate review of the MEC's decisions, and in this instance, far from ratifying the MEC's actions, it in fact ordered the MEC to reconsider its decision to report Chudacoff to the NPDB and mandated a second clinical fair hearing on the quality of care issue. The MEC's actions cannot be attributed to UMC or the Board. See Avalos v. Baca, 596 F.3d 583, 587-88 (9th Cir.2010). Although the individual voting members of the MEC can be held liable under § 1983 for Chudacoff's constitutional injuries, nowhere does Chudacoff allege that these doctors have final policymaking authority for the county hospital, and there is no respondeat superior liability under § 1983. Monell, 436 U.S. at 692, 98 S.Ct. 2018; Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir.2002). The district court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of UMC, the Commissioners, and the Medical and Dental Staff with respect to Chudacoff's constitutional claims.