09-350 Los Angeles County v. Humphries

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Civil Rights
Municipal liability

Monell’s “policy or custom” requirement applies in Section 1983 cases irrespective of whether the relief sought is monetary or prospective.

Section 1983, read in light of Monell’s understanding of the legislative history, explains why claims for prospective relief, like claims for money damages, fall within the scope of the “policy or custom” requirement. Nothing in §1983 suggests that the causation requirement should change with the form of relief sought. In fact, the text suggests the opposite when it provides that a person who meets §1983’s elements “shall be liable . . . in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.” Thus, as Monell explicitly stated, “local governing bodies . . . can be sued directly under §1983 for monetary, declaratory, or injunctive relief where, as here, the action that is alleged to be unconstitutional implements or executes” a policy or custom. 436 U. S., at 690. To find the “policy or custom” requirement inapplicable in prospective relief cases would also undermine Monell’s logic. For whether an action or omission is a municipality’s “own” has to do with the nature of the action or omission, not with the nature of the relief that is later sought in court.

Reversed and Remanded.

Local effect: The Seventh Circuit has reserved deciding the issue. Gernetzke v. Kenosha Unified School Dist. No. 1, 274 F.3d 464, 468 (7th Cir. 2001).

09-350 Los Angeles County v. Humphries
Breyer, J.

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