The following excerpt is from Action v. Coachella Valley Water Dist., Case No.: 20-cv-01800-AJB-RBM (S.D. Cal. 2021):
In addition, an entity may be found liable under 1983 only when its policy, practice, or custom inflicts injury upon the plaintiff. See City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S.
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378, 385 (1989). Local governments (such as cities, counties, and other municipalities) and their officials are "among those persons to whom 1983 applies." Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 690-91 (1978). In cases where a plaintiff alleges municipal liability, there must be a direct and causal link between a municipal policy, practice, or custom and the alleged constitutional deprivation. See City of Canton, 489 U.S. at 385. It is not sufficient for a plaintiff to identify a custom or policy, attributable to the municipality, that caused his injury. A plaintiff must also demonstrate that the custom or policy was adhered to with "deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights" of the plaintiff. Id. at 392.
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