Although 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (commonly known as “§ 1983”) is one of the most potent tools that a plaintiff has for the enforcement of their constitutional and statutory rights, it is also one of the most misunderstood. The statute allows plaintiffs to bring suit in federal court to recover damages and obtain equitable relief against any person, including government officials, who violates another’s constitutional rights while acting “under color of” the law. Even so, various immunity doctrines either prevent suits against certain state actors entirely or else limit the grounds upon which liability may be found.
In Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York,[1] the Court held that municipalities are not immune from suit under § 1983. This decision was a major victory for civil rights plaintiffs. However, the Court in Monell also established that municipalities can only be held liable where government employees act according to municipal “policy or custom,” and that they cannot be held liable for the unconstitutional acts of their employees on a theory of respondeat superior. In the forty-six years since Monell was decided, this test has developed into, in the words of Justice Steven Breyer, “a highly complex body of interpretative law.”[2]
Federal courts have determined that there are several possible avenues available for arguing that a municipal “policy or custom” exists for the purposes of a § 1983 claim. These include showing either (1) an official law or regulation passed by the governing body; (2) a final decision made by a municipal policymaker; (3) a widespread and persistent pattern of behavior among municipal employees; or (4) a failure to train, screen, or supervise municipal employees.[3] Each of these theories require litigators to carefully plead several elements to make out a successful § 1983 claim, but a recent study found that 56.5% of the claims brought by civil rights attorneys failed to properly identify and satisfy these elements.[4]
Bringing a § 1983 claim may be an effective strategy for you if you are contemplating entering litigation with a municipality. If so, the experienced attorneys at Dalton & Tomich would be happy to assist you so that you have the best chance of success when attempting to vindicate your rights.
[1] Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978).
[2] Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs, 520 U.S. at 430 (Breyer, J., dissenting).
[3] Nancy Leong, Katelyn Elrod & Matthew Nilsen, Pleading Failures in Monell Litigation, 73 Emory L. J. 801, 803 (2024).
[4] Id. at 806.
