AND · 42usc1983:policy
Satisfied by (1) an express municipal policy, (2) a widespread practice/custom so permanent and well settled as to have the force of law, (3) an act of an official with final policymaking authority (Pembaur; Praprotnik), or (4) deliberate indifference in failure to train/supervise (`policy.failure-to-train`).
Exact element source
custom, or usage,Source:
docroot/ir/usc/title42.jsonl#title42_sec1983; Unicode character offsets [115:132] (end exclusive); SHA-256 88fe01322b9d94860a669ec452f558146e2745845070bc43583671ce12acb2bb.All variants
| Variant | Description | Merits instance blocks | Distinct cases | Example cases (up to 3 per group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| final-policymaker/police-chief-decision-ratified-by-city-manager | 1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0 | 1 | /f-supp/772/0583-01 — United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida · 1991 — satisfied | |
| policy-or-custom/entity-named-only-as-source-of-authority | 1 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 1; excluded context 0 | 1 | /f2d/628/1104-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1980 — not | |
| Unspecified variant | No variant assigned in the database. | 0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 8 | 0 | No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f-supp/567/1159-01 — United States District Court for the District of Delaware · 1983 — applied/merits; /f3d/189/0808-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1999 — applied/merits; /f3d/475/0645-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 2007 — applied/merits |
How courts decided this element
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Variant | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /f-supp/567/1159-01 — United States District Court for the District of Delaware · 1983 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f-supp/772/0583-01 — United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida · 1991 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: triable; party: City of Miami and official-capacity defendants; subject: party=City of Miami and official-capacity defendants Single personnel decisions by the chief, ratified by the city manager, suffice; final ruling reserved for trial. | final-policymaker/police-chief-decision-ratified-by-city-manager | Police Chief Dickson elected instead to impose a six month extension of Kamenesh’s probationary period as captain and to eliminate forty hours of Plaintiff’s earned overtime.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_772.jsonl#/f-supp/772/0583-01; Unicode character offsets [3230:3404] (end exclusive); SHA-256 61ce8424e918ef86a19d77a8269d686f5594190217c2ebcc63814df5bb34edd6.Dickson accepted Oboz’s recommendations to transfer Kamenesh out of SIS and to instigate an Internal Security investigation into Kamenesh’s associations with Anatasia and his alleged insubordination to Oboz.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_772.jsonl#/f-supp/772/0583-01; Unicode character offsets [2396:2603] (end exclusive); SHA-256 61ce8424e918ef86a19d77a8269d686f5594190217c2ebcc63814df5bb34edd6.the decisions of the two police chiefs involved and the direct and indirect ratification of those decisions by two different city managers concerning the incidents complained of constitute acts by “final policymakers”Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_772.jsonl#/f-supp/772/0583-01; Unicode character offsets [23447:23664] (end exclusive); SHA-256 61ce8424e918ef86a19d77a8269d686f5594190217c2ebcc63814df5bb34edd6. |
| /f2d/628/1104-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1980 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: pleaded; party: Polk County (entity); subject: party=Polk County (entity) Deficient as pleaded but leave to amend ordered on remand, so the failure is provisional. | policy-or-custom/entity-named-only-as-source-of-authority | . The portion of the complaint which names Polk County reads as follows: “Polk County is enjoined [sic-perhaps “joined” is meant] in this action because it is the political basis, and the source that authorized it’s [sic] political sub-divisions and it’s [sic] quasi-contractants to act in the manner prescribed in this complaint . . .Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_628.jsonl#/f2d/628/1104-01; Unicode character offsets [15735:16070] (end exclusive); SHA-256 d2c865685b00f7d491a6a0a10e31df9c82bf1a5e46d7bc2a6fe79468154f11bf.Even though we interpret the allegations expansively, we are unable to say that the complaint alleges the necessary county involvement in the claimed unconstitutional conduct by virtue of the execution of county policy or custom.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_628.jsonl#/f2d/628/1104-01; Unicode character offsets [12870:13099] (end exclusive); SHA-256 d2c865685b00f7d491a6a0a10e31df9c82bf1a5e46d7bc2a6fe79468154f11bf. |
| /f3d/189/0808-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1999 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f3d/475/0645-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 2007 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f3d/813/0938-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 2015 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / meritsSheriff did not appeal in his official capacity. | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f4th/141/417 — Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 2025 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /us/502/0021-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1991 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / meritsStated only as a contrast: personal-capacity plaintiffs need not show an entity policy or custom; official-capacity plaintiffs must. | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /us/503/0001-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1992 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /us/526/0040-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1999 | Municipal policy or custom as moving force (Monell v. Department of Social Services) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits party: School District of Philadelphia, self-insurer and municipal corporation (own certiorari petition denied); subject: party=School District of Philadelphia, self-insurer and municipal corporation (own certiorari petition denied) School District of Philadelphia (self-insurer, municipal corporation) was a defendant, but its state-actor status and any Monell question were never decided. | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
Court interpretations
interpretation
Instead, to establish municipal liability, a plaintiff must show that a local government's "policy or custom" led to the plaintiff's injury. Monell , 436 U.
Instead, to establish municipal liability, a plaintiff must show that a local government's "policy or custom" led to the plaintiff's injury. Monell , 436 U.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_935.jsonl#/f3d/935/0804-01; Unicode character offsets [9027:9183] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c8c8a082e238f939ada99fe6c822fed1224a701feedd83954fbc385779bf849a.Satisfied by (1) an express municipal policy, (2) a widespread practice/custom so permanent and well settled as to have the force of law, (3) an act of an official with final policymaking authority (Pembaur; Praprotnik), or (4) deliberate indifference in failure to train/supervise (`policy.failure-to-train`).
interpretation
The city is not vicariously liable under §1983 for the constitutional torts of its agents: It is only liable when it can be fairly said that the city itself is the wrongdoer.
/us/503/0115-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1992
The city is not vicariously liable under §1983 for the constitutional torts of its agents: It is only liable when it can be fairly said that the city itself is the wrongdoer.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/us_503.jsonl#/us/503/0115-01; Unicode character offsets [8208:8382] (end exclusive); SHA-256 cdcb0d53dc7d297333c59be23c4699c1e9264a24434e59748ddb5fbaeb69f046.Satisfied by (1) an express municipal policy, (2) a widespread practice/custom so permanent and well settled as to have the force of law, (3) an act of an official with final policymaking authority (Pembaur; Praprotnik), or (4) deliberate indifference in failure to train/supervise (`policy.failure-to-train`).
interpretation
Consequently, we vacate the district court’s derivative judgment in favor of defendants on Codrington’s claims under Monell v.
Consequently, we vacate the district court’s derivative judgment in favor of defendants on Codrington’s claims under Monell v.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f4th_142.jsonl#/f4th/142/884; Unicode character offsets [2309:2435] (end exclusive); SHA-256 997b387c2c89f1d2c34461257739053b3dcd8941cb6ef00e0ce9f261c8d7c09a.Satisfied by (1) an express municipal policy, (2) a widespread practice/custom so permanent and well settled as to have the force of law, (3) an act of an official with final policymaking authority (Pembaur; Praprotnik), or (4) deliberate indifference in failure to train/supervise (`policy.failure-to-train`).
not-required
Respondeat superior / vicarious liability is rejected; municipality is not liable solely because it employs a tortfeasor (Monell, 436 U.S. at 691)
No source quotation recorded.