Opinion ID: 1704806
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendants Sued As Agents Of The State.

Text: It has been clearly established for over a decade that the theory of respondeat superior is not applicable in § 1983 actions. [A] municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat superior theory. Monell v. New York City Dep't of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 691, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978); Brown v. Wallace, 957 F.2d 564 (8th Cir.1992) (the doctrine of respondeat superior does not apply in § 1983 actions); Darrow v. Schumacher, 495 N.W.2d 511, 516 (S.D.1993). Therefore, insofar as Defendants Armfield, Jacobson, Ligtenberg and Ziegler were sued as agents of the state, they were properly granted summary judgment as a matter of law.