Opinion ID: 792823
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Supervisory Liability Claim Against Hughes

Text: 36 McQueen argues that Hughes is liable under § 1983 on a supervisory liability theory for her failures to expel Smith, to train teachers to deal with violent students, to adopt policies protecting students from violent assaults, and to prevent teachers from leaving children unattended in classrooms. The district court held that Hughes is protected by qualified immunity. 37 Respondeat superior is not a proper basis for liability under § 1983. Leary v. Daeschner, 349 F.3d 888, 903 (6th Cir. 2003); Bellamy v. Bradley, 729 F.2d 416, 421 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 845, 105 S.Ct. 156, 83 L.Ed.2d 93 (1984). Nor can the liability of supervisors be based solely on the right to control employees, Bellamy, 729 F.2d at 421, or simple awareness of employees' misconduct, Leary, 349 F.3d at 903; Bellamy, 729 F.2d at 421. Furthermore, a supervisory official's failure to supervise, control or train the offending individual is not actionable unless the supervisor `either encouraged the specific incident of misconduct or in some other way directly participated in it.' Shehee v. Luttrell, 199 F.3d 295, 300 (6th Cir. 1999) (quoting Hays v. Jefferson County, 668 F.2d 869, 874 (6th Cir. 1982)). At a minimum a plaintiff must show that the [supervisor] at least implicitly authorized, approved, or knowingly acquiesced in the unconstitutional conduct of the offending officers. Id. (quoting Hays, 668 F.2d at 874). 38 These principles make clear that a prerequisite of supervisory liability under § 1983 is unconstitutional conduct by a subordinate of the supervisor. For example, when we have addressed supervisory liability claims against principals and other school officials, it has been in the context of clear unconstitutional conduct by teachers. See, e.g., Doe v. City of Roseville, 296 F.3d 431 (6th Cir. 2002) (sexual abuse by teacher); Doe v. Claiborne County, 103 F.3d 495 (6th Cir. 1996) (same). There is no such underlying unconstitutional conduct by subordinates here. As the discussion above of McQueen's direct state-created-danger claim against Judd demonstrates, McQueen has not produced sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact that Judd (Hughes's subordinate) violated Doe's substantive due process rights. Because McQueen also has not pointed to unconstitutional conduct by any other employee supervised by Hughes, it necessarily follows that the supervisory liability claim against Hughes must fail. 9 39