Opinion ID: 396198
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the city of allentown

Text: 120 The sole basis upon which the City of Allentown was held liable was that the regulation concerning postponement of disciplinary proceedings, which I have discussed earlier in section I-B of this opinion, constituted a governmental policy that proximately caused Detective Stephens to file unwarranted charges against Black. Maj. op. at 191-192. Since the evidence failed to establish a causal link between the regulation and Stephens' actions so as to hold Gable liable, the same absence of proximate causation necessarily exists with respect to the City, whose asserted liability is founded solely on Gable's role as a municipal policymaker. 121 Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978), the decision upon which the City's asserted liability is based, makes clear that it is only when execution of a government's policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the injury that the government as an entity is responsible under § 1983. Id. at 694, 98 S.Ct. at 2037 (emphasis added). Monell made it clear that a municipality cannot be held liable under section 1983 on a theory of respondeat superior. Id. Thus, absent a showing of a causal link between official policy as reflected in the police regulation and Stephens' actions, Monell prohibits a finding a liability against the City.