Opinion ID: 1437687
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Municipal Liability for Single Act of Final Policymaker

Text: Where a plaintiff seeks to hold a municipality liable for a single decision by [a] municipal policymaker[], Pembaur, 475 U.S. at 480, 106 S.Ct. 1292, the plaintiff must show that the official had final policymaking power, see Praprotnik, 485 U.S. at 123, 108 S.Ct. 915 (explaining that only those municipal officials who have `final policymaking authority' may by their actions subject the government to § 1983 liability). Moreover, the challenged actions must be within that official's area of policymaking authority. Id. (explaining that, pursuant to Pembaur the challenged action must have been taken pursuant to a policy adopted by the official or officials responsible under state law for making policy in that area of the city's business); see also Jeffes v. Barnes, 208 F.3d 49, 57 (2d Cir.2000) (explaining that the government official must be a final policymaker with respect to the particular conduct challenged in the lawsuit). An official has final authority if his decisions, at the time they are made, may fairly be said to represent official policy. McMillian v. Monroe County, Alabama, 520 U.S. 781, 784, 117 S.Ct. 1734, 138 L.Ed.2d 1 (1997); see Anthony v. City of New York, 339 F.3d 129, 139 (2d Cir.2003). Whether an official has final policymaking authority is a legal question, determined on the basis of state law. Jeffes, 208 F.3d at 57. As stated, the critical inquiry is not whether an official generally has final policymaking authority; rather, the court must specifically determine whether the government official is a final policymaker with respect to the particular conduct challenged in the lawsuit. Id. (internal citations omitted).