Source: cases/42usc1983/f3d-935-804-us-v-town-of-colorado-city.case
Case source: https://www.neochart.com/catalog/cases/f3d/volume_935/0804_01/index.html
Instead, to establish municipal liability, a plaintiff must show that a local government's "policy or custom" led to the plaintiff's injury.
That difference is important because, by including "custom" in § 1983, Congress expressly contemplated imposing liability on actors who violated constitutional rights under an official policy.
We likewise decline to extend Monell 's holding to claims pursuant to § 12601.
casedsl 1.2
# author: Flash1 (gemini-3.8-flash-high)
# triaged-by: Fable (2026-11-10)
case /f3d/935/0804-01
name United States v. Town of Colorado City
cite 935 F.3d 804 (2019)
court United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
date 2019-08-26
url catalog/cases/f3d/volume_935/0804_01/index.html
source ir/caselaw/f3d_935.jsonl sha1=df5c9eb57e92a4c2b16e90565eb3b98048bc5e56 chars=31326
opinion maj : panel by M. Smith @0..31326 controlling
? opinion: the five footnotes are appended after "AFFIRMED." (@29577..31326) with their numbers stripped; they belong to the same unanimous panel opinion, so one span is declared.
party towns : Town of Colorado City (appellant; Hildale City withdrew its appeal)
count pattern-practice : 34 U.S.C. § 12601 pattern-or-practice claim brought by the United States
theory monell-contrast : Monell policy-or-custom requirement of § 1983 used as the contrast for respondeat superior liability under § 12601
law 42usc1983
role comparator
posture civil; United States sued two towns under 34 U.S.C. § 12601 for a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing; after an advisory jury verdict the district court found the towns liable and granted injunctive relief; CA9 affirmed, holding that § 12601, unlike § 1983 under Monell, allows respondeat superior liability
result not-decided
element policy : not-reached
route _comparator
party towns
count pattern-practice
theory monell-contrast
rule @9027..9167 | Instead, to establish municipal liability, a plaintiff must show that a local government's "policy or custom" led to the plaintiff's injury.
rule @11190..11382 | That difference is important because, by including "custom" in § 1983, Congress expressly contemplated imposing liability on actors who violated constitutional rights under an official policy.
held @10774..10852 | We likewise decline to extend Monell 's holding to claims pursuant to § 12601.
gloss No § 1983 claim was before the court. Monell's policy-or-custom requirement is described only as the yardstick against which § 12601 is construed: the text of § 1983 ("custom", "causes to be subjected") is what supports Monell, and § 12601 lacks both phrases.