Navarro

We must decide whether a complaint alleging bad faith execution of a municipal policy to indemnify police officers from punitive damage awards states a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . Specifically, we are asked whether municipal officials are entitled to qualified immunity against such claims.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case comes to us at the motion to dismiss stage. There has been no discovery. The complaint alleges that prior decisions by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (“the Supervisors”) to indemnify county sheriffs from punitive damage awards were made in bad faith and proximately caused a violation of the plaintiffs constitutional rights. 1 The district court denied the motion to dismiss, holding: “[I]f [the] plaintiff demonstrates that the Supervisors’ actions were performed in bad faith and were the proximate cause of a violation of plaintiffs constitutional rights', the Supervisors would not be entitled to qualified immunity.” We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Dismissal for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) is reviewed de novo. *732 Monterey Plaza Hotel, Ltd. v. Local 4.88,…