Opinion ID: 8407613
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Supervision Issue with Regard to the Village

Text: Before we can decide Whether the Village is immune from the plaintiffs claims, however, we must confront yet one more issue. The plaintiff argues that for a municipality to be immune under the Parker state-action immunity doctrine, it must show, in addition to state authority for its regulatory scheme, that government officials actively supervise those private parties whom the municipality regulates. Whether a municipality must make such a showing appears to be an open question. The Supreme Court held in Town of Hattie that a municipality need not show that it is supervised by state officials for it to qualify for state-action immunity. 471 U.S. at 46, 105 S.Ct. 1713. But the Supreme Court also indicated that “[w]here state or municipal regulation by a private party is involved, ... active state supervision must be shown; even where a clearly articulated state policy exists.” Id. at 46 n. 10, 105 S.Ct. 1713. This raises the question of whether a failure to show active supervision of a private party can defeat both the municipality’s claim of immunity and the private party’s, or only the private party’s. We are not aware - of any decision that squarely addresses this issue. The law regarding the active supervision requirement has developed almost entirely in the context of claims against private parties. We will therefore return to the question of whether the Village’s immunity might depend upon a showing that the Board is actively supervised by the Village after we review' the plaintiffs claims against the Board.