42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Revision history

Ibjadmin: /* Entitlement to Fees */

2010-11-18T13:46:13Z

Entitlement to Fees

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:46, 18 November 2010
Line 110:		Line 110:

	----		----
	See [[Civil ~~Actions~~]]		See [[Civil Action]]

	==Notes==		==Notes==

	<references/>		<references/>

Ibjadmin: /* Entitlement to Fees */

2010-11-18T13:45:35Z

Entitlement to Fees

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:45, 18 November 2010
Line 108:		Line 108:

	Fees are generally calculated by multiplying the reasonable number of hours worked by the reasonable rate for the attorney. This calculation, called the '''Loadstar Method''' will be upheld regardless of whether the attorney fees are in proportion to the damages suffered by the defendant.<ref>City of Riverside v. Rivera, 473 U.S. 1315 (1985)</ref>		Fees are generally calculated by multiplying the reasonable number of hours worked by the reasonable rate for the attorney. This calculation, called the '''Loadstar Method''' will be upheld regardless of whether the attorney fees are in proportion to the damages suffered by the defendant.<ref>City of Riverside v. Rivera, 473 U.S. 1315 (1985)</ref>

			----
			See [[Civil Actions]]

	==Notes==		==Notes==

	<references/>		<references/>

Sleung at 10:38, 27 October 2010

2010-10-27T10:38:59Z

Show changes

Ibjadmin: /* Municipal Liability */

2010-08-10T19:02:27Z

Municipal Liability

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:02, 10 August 2010
Line 78:		Line 78:
	<blockquote>Moreover, the identified deficiency in the training program must be closely related to the ultimate injury. Thus, respondent must still prove that the deficiency in training actually caused the police officers' indifference to her medical needs. To adopt lesser standards of fault and causation would open municipalities to unprecedented liability under 1983; would result in de facto respondeat superior liability...; would engage federal courts in an endless exercise of second-guessing municipal employee-training programs, a task that they are ill suited to undertake; and would implicate serious questions of federalism."<ref>City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris et al., 489 US 378 (1989)</ref></blockquote>		<blockquote>Moreover, the identified deficiency in the training program must be closely related to the ultimate injury. Thus, respondent must still prove that the deficiency in training actually caused the police officers' indifference to her medical needs. To adopt lesser standards of fault and causation would open municipalities to unprecedented liability under 1983; would result in de facto respondeat superior liability...; would engage federal courts in an endless exercise of second-guessing municipal employee-training programs, a task that they are ill suited to undertake; and would implicate serious questions of federalism."<ref>City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris et al., 489 US 378 (1989)</ref></blockquote>

	*'''Negligent Hiring''' -Where adequate scrutiny of an applicant's background would lead a reasonable policymaker to conclude that the plainly obvious consequence of the decision to hire the applicant would be the deprivation of a third party's federally protected right, an official's failure to adequately scrutinize the applicant's background may constitute "deliberate indifference". <ref> Board of the County Commissioners of Bryan County, Oklahoma v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397 (1997)</ref>		*'''Negligent Hiring''' - Where adequate scrutiny of an applicant's background would lead a reasonable policymaker to conclude that the plainly obvious consequence of the decision to hire the applicant would be the deprivation of a third party's federally protected right, an official's failure to adequately scrutinize the applicant's background may constitute "deliberate indifference". <ref> Board of the County Commissioners of Bryan County, Oklahoma v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397 (1997)</ref>

	==Rights Enforceable under 42 U.S.C. � 1983==		==Rights Enforceable under 42 U.S.C. � 1983==

Ibjadmin: /* Municipal Liability */

2010-08-10T19:02:10Z

Municipal Liability

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:02, 10 August 2010
Line 78:		Line 78:
	<blockquote>Moreover, the identified deficiency in the training program must be closely related to the ultimate injury. Thus, respondent must still prove that the deficiency in training actually caused the police officers' indifference to her medical needs. To adopt lesser standards of fault and causation would open municipalities to unprecedented liability under 1983; would result in de facto respondeat superior liability...; would engage federal courts in an endless exercise of second-guessing municipal employee-training programs, a task that they are ill suited to undertake; and would implicate serious questions of federalism."<ref>City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris et al., 489 US 378 (1989)</ref></blockquote>		<blockquote>Moreover, the identified deficiency in the training program must be closely related to the ultimate injury. Thus, respondent must still prove that the deficiency in training actually caused the police officers' indifference to her medical needs. To adopt lesser standards of fault and causation would open municipalities to unprecedented liability under 1983; would result in de facto respondeat superior liability...; would engage federal courts in an endless exercise of second-guessing municipal employee-training programs, a task that they are ill suited to undertake; and would implicate serious questions of federalism."<ref>City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris et al., 489 US 378 (1989)</ref></blockquote>

			*'''Negligent Hiring''' -Where adequate scrutiny of an applicant's background would lead a reasonable policymaker to conclude that the plainly obvious consequence of the decision to hire the applicant would be the deprivation of a third party's federally protected right, an official's failure to adequately scrutinize the applicant's background may constitute "deliberate indifference". <ref> Board of the County Commissioners of Bryan County, Oklahoma v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397 (1997)</ref>
	*'''Negligent Hiring''' -

	==Rights Enforceable under 42 U.S.C. � 1983==		==Rights Enforceable under 42 U.S.C. � 1983==

Ibjadmin: /* Municipal Liability */

2010-08-10T18:55:30Z

Municipal Liability

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:55, 10 August 2010
Line 76:		Line 76:
	<blockquote> "The inadequacy of police training may serve as the basis for 1983 liability only where the failure to train in a relevant respect amounts to deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of persons with whom the police come into contact... Only where a failure to train reflects a "deliberate" or "conscious" choice by the municipality can the failure be properly thought of as an actionable city 'policy.'</blockquote>		<blockquote> "The inadequacy of police training may serve as the basis for 1983 liability only where the failure to train in a relevant respect amounts to deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of persons with whom the police come into contact... Only where a failure to train reflects a "deliberate" or "conscious" choice by the municipality can the failure be properly thought of as an actionable city 'policy.'</blockquote>

	<blockquote>Moreover, the identified deficiency in the training program must be closely related to the ultimate injury. Thus, respondent must still prove that the deficiency in training actually caused the police officers' indifference to her medical needs. To adopt lesser standards of fault and causation would open municipalities to unprecedented liability under 1983; would result in de facto respondeat superior liability...; would engage federal courts in an endless exercise of second-guessing municipal employee-training programs, a task that they are ill suited to undertake; and would implicate serious questions of federalism."<ref>City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris et al., 489 US 378 (1989)<~~Ref~~></blockquote>		<blockquote>Moreover, the identified deficiency in the training program must be closely related to the ultimate injury. Thus, respondent must still prove that the deficiency in training actually caused the police officers' indifference to her medical needs. To adopt lesser standards of fault and causation would open municipalities to unprecedented liability under 1983; would result in de facto respondeat superior liability...; would engage federal courts in an endless exercise of second-guessing municipal employee-training programs, a task that they are ill suited to undertake; and would implicate serious questions of federalism."<ref>City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris et al., 489 US 378 (1989)</ref></blockquote>

Ibjadmin: /* Municipal Liability */

2010-08-10T18:55:11Z

Municipal Liability

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:55, 10 August 2010
Line 72:		Line 72:
	We hold that municipal liability under 1983 attaches where - and only where - a deliberate choice to follow a course of action is made from among various alternatives by the official or officials responsible for establishing final policy with respect to the subject matter in question.<ref>Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469 (1986)</ref></blockquote>		We hold that municipal liability under 1983 attaches where - and only where - a deliberate choice to follow a course of action is made from among various alternatives by the official or officials responsible for establishing final policy with respect to the subject matter in question.<ref>Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469 (1986)</ref></blockquote>

	*'''Failure to Train''' -		*'''Failure to Train''' - A municipality may be liable for a tort committed by an employee if the city could have prevented the injury through training.

			<blockquote> "The inadequacy of police training may serve as the basis for 1983 liability only where the failure to train in a relevant respect amounts to deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of persons with whom the police come into contact... Only where a failure to train reflects a "deliberate" or "conscious" choice by the municipality can the failure be properly thought of as an actionable city 'policy.'</blockquote>

			<blockquote>Moreover, the identified deficiency in the training program must be closely related to the ultimate injury. Thus, respondent must still prove that the deficiency in training actually caused the police officers' indifference to her medical needs. To adopt lesser standards of fault and causation would open municipalities to unprecedented liability under 1983; would result in de facto respondeat superior liability...; would engage federal courts in an endless exercise of second-guessing municipal employee-training programs, a task that they are ill suited to undertake; and would implicate serious questions of federalism."<ref>City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris et al., 489 US 378 (1989)<Ref></blockquote>


	*'''Negligent Hiring''' -		*'''Negligent Hiring''' -

Ibjadmin: /* Municipal Liability */

2010-08-10T18:52:17Z

Municipal Liability

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:52, 10 August 2010
Line 64:		Line 64:
	In Monroe v. Pape <ref>Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961)</ref> the United States Supreme Court concluded that municipalities were not "persons" under 42 U.S.C. � 1983 and therefore could not be sued for damages. This decision was reversed 17 years later in Monell v. City of New York Department of Social Services <ref>Monell v. City of New York Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)</ref> In Monell the court concluded that local governing bodies could be sued directly under 42 U.S.C. � 1983 for monetary, declaratory, or injunctive relief where the action that is alleged to be unconstitutional implements or executes a policy statement, ordinance, regulation or decision officially adopted and promulgated by the body's officers. The Monell decision states specifically that municipalities cannot be held liable solely because they are employees are tortfeasors.		In Monroe v. Pape <ref>Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961)</ref> the United States Supreme Court concluded that municipalities were not "persons" under 42 U.S.C. � 1983 and therefore could not be sued for damages. This decision was reversed 17 years later in Monell v. City of New York Department of Social Services <ref>Monell v. City of New York Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)</ref> In Monell the court concluded that local governing bodies could be sued directly under 42 U.S.C. � 1983 for monetary, declaratory, or injunctive relief where the action that is alleged to be unconstitutional implements or executes a policy statement, ordinance, regulation or decision officially adopted and promulgated by the body's officers. The Monell decision states specifically that municipalities cannot be held liable solely because they are employees are tortfeasors.

	Municipalities are strictly liable for their Constitutional torts and are not eligible for qualified immunity. <ref>Owen v. City of Independence, 445 U.S. 622 (1980)</ref>		Municipalities are strictly liable for their Constitutional torts and are not eligible for qualified immunity. <ref>Owen v. City of Independence, 445 U.S. 622 (1980)</ref> If a municipality cannot be strictly liable under respondeat superior, in what cases can an act of government agency be attributed to the agency itself? Several cases provide illumination:

			*'''Single Decision Policy''' - Municipality should be held under 1983 when and only when a deliberate choice is made through various alternatives by an official or officials responsible for establishing final policy with respect to the subject matter in question:

			<blockquote>"[W]e hasten to emphasize that not every decision by municipal officers automatically subjects the municipality to 1983 liability. Municipal liability attaches only where the decision maker possesses final authority to establish municipal policy with respect to the action ordered.

			We hold that municipal liability under 1983 attaches where - and only where - a deliberate choice to follow a course of action is made from among various alternatives by the official or officials responsible for establishing final policy with respect to the subject matter in question.<ref>Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469 (1986)</ref></blockquote>

			*'''Failure to Train''' -

			*'''Negligent Hiring''' -

	==Rights Enforceable under 42 U.S.C. � 1983==		==Rights Enforceable under 42 U.S.C. � 1983==

Ibjadmin: /* Remedies */

2010-08-10T18:40:14Z

Remedies

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:40, 10 August 2010
Line 78:		Line 78:
	Under Section 1983 damages can take the form of nominal damages, compensatory damages and punitive damages.		Under Section 1983 damages can take the form of nominal damages, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
	* '''Compensatory Damages''' may include lost earnings, loss of earning capacity, out of pocket expenses, pain/suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress suffered. There is no inherent "value" in constitutional rights. Damage awards for 1983 actions , separate and aside from normal tort standards, may not be based on the abstract "value" or "importance of constitutional rights" <ref>Memphis Community School Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299 (1986)</ref> There may, however, be inferred damages, which arise in situations where the circumstances themselves surrounding the violation imply actual damages.		* '''Compensatory Damages''' may include lost earnings, loss of earning capacity, out of pocket expenses, pain/suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress suffered. There is no inherent "value" in constitutional rights. Damage awards for 1983 actions , separate and aside from normal tort standards, may not be based on the abstract "value" or "importance of constitutional rights" <ref>Memphis Community School Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299 (1986)</ref> There may, however, be inferred damages, which arise in situations where the circumstances themselves surrounding the violation imply actual damages.
	* '''Punitive Damages''' may be assessed when the defendant's conduct is shown to be motivated by evil motive or intent, or when it involves reckless or callous indifference to the federally protected right. Punitive damages may be found even when the underlying threshold for liability is recklessness.		* '''Punitive Damages''' may be assessed when the defendant's conduct is shown to be motivated by evil motive or intent, or when it involves reckless or callous indifference to the federally protected right. Punitive damages may be found even when the underlying threshold for liability is recklessness.<ref>Smith v. Wade, 461 U.S. 30 (1983)</ref>. Municipalities are immune from punitive damages. <ref>Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc., 453 U.S. 247 (1981)</ref>
	* '''Injunctive Relief''' may be awarded.		* '''Injunctive Relief''' may be awarded.
	* '''Nominal Damages''' may be awarded by the jury if they determine that the plaintiff's Constitutional rights were violated but they do not believe that they suffered substantive damages.		* '''Nominal Damages''' may be awarded by the jury if they determine that the plaintiff's Constitutional rights were violated but they do not believe that they suffered substantive damages.

Ibjadmin: /* Entitlement to Fees */

2010-08-10T18:33:42Z

Entitlement to Fees

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:33, 10 August 2010
Line 91:		Line 91:
	<blockquote> '''(c) Expert fees''' - In awarding an attorney's fee under subsection (b) of this section in any action or proceeding to enforce a provision of section 1981 or 1981a of this title, the court, in its discretion, may include expert fees as part of the attorney's fee.</Blockquote>		<blockquote> '''(c) Expert fees''' - In awarding an attorney's fee under subsection (b) of this section in any action or proceeding to enforce a provision of section 1981 or 1981a of this title, the court, in its discretion, may include expert fees as part of the attorney's fee.</Blockquote>

	Fees are calculated by multiplying the reasonable number of hours worked by the reasonable rate for the attorney. This calculation, called the '''Loadstar Method''' will be upheld regardless of whether the attorney fees are in proportion to the damages suffered by the defendant.<ref>City of Riverside v. Rivera, 473 U.S. 1315 (1985)</ref>		Only prevailing parties are able to collect attorneys' fees under this provision. The Supreme Court has concluded that a prevailing party must either receive a judgement, or a judicially approved settlement agreement. Plaintiffs who succeed in achieving victory through other means, such as legislative change, are not prevailing parties under this statute. <ref> Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, 532 U.S. 598 (2001)</ref>

			Fees are generally calculated by multiplying the reasonable number of hours worked by the reasonable rate for the attorney. This calculation, called the '''Loadstar Method''' will be upheld regardless of whether the attorney fees are in proportion to the damages suffered by the defendant.<ref>City of Riverside v. Rivera, 473 U.S. 1315 (1985)</ref>

	==Notes==		==Notes==

	<references/>		<references/>