Opinion ID: 2791474
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: claim against the city of delray beach

Text: Moody next challenges the district court’s dismissal of her § 1983 claim against the City of Delray Beach for failure to state a claim. Unlike the State of Florida, the City of Delray Beach is a local government entity which we consider a “person” for purposes of § 1983. See McDowell v. Brown, 392 F.3d 1283, 1289 3 Case: 14-11295 Date Filed: 04/06/2015 Page: 4 of 6 (11th Cir. 2004). “[T]o impose § 1983 liability on a municipality, a plaintiff must show: (1) that his constitutional rights were violated; (2) that the municipality had a custom or policy that constituted deliberate indifference to that constitutional right; and (3) that the policy or custom caused the violation.” Id. To establish a policy or custom, a plaintiff must show a “persistent and wide-spread practice.” See id. at 1290 (quotation omitted). However, a theory of respondeat superior will not establish a municipality’s liability. Id. at 1289. Moody’s complaint was properly dismissed because she failed to allege a city policy or custom that caused some violation of her constitutional rights. Instead, she attempts to rely on respondeat superior to establish the city’s liability by alleging that the city allowed her to be harmed by various police officers, doctors, and attorneys. Moody’s second amended complaint (titled “Definite Statement and Complaint”) asserts that the City of Delray Beach “went right along” with Moody’s 2007 arrest and “allow[ed] its [police department] employee(s) . . . to violate their municipal policy and custom contract.” She also highlights that the City of Delray Beach “never made one attempt to get [Moody] out of the Psychiatric Forensic Hospital,” “allowed [Moody’s] mental state of mind to be tortured” through forced medication, “allowed [Moody] to be put through another arrest” by a Delray Beach police officer, and “allowed [Moody] to be held against her will for 238 days” in jail and at the mental hospital. These allegations 4 Case: 14-11295 Date Filed: 04/06/2015 Page: 5 of 6 make no mention of any unconstitutional custom or policy of the City of Delray Beach. Because Moody cannot rely upon respondeat superior to impose vicarious liability on the City of Delray Beach for the actions of its employees, the district court properly dismissed Moody’s § 1983 complaint.