Swilley v. City of Houston
457 F. App'x 400 (5th Cir. 2012)
Holding
Employees of the same legal entity cannot conspire among themselves under § 1983; the City of Houston is a single legal entity and its employees cannot form a conspiracy as a matter of law.
What This Case Is About
Swilley v. City of Houston established a clear and frequently cited rule in the Fifth Circuit: employees of the same municipal entity cannot conspire with each other for purposes of § 1983. Because the City of Houston is a single legal entity, its employees are legally incapable of forming the kind of agreement between distinct parties required for a conspiracy claim.
The Facts
The plaintiff brought § 1983 claims against the City of Houston and its employees, alleging that multiple city employees conspired to deprive the plaintiff of constitutional rights. The conspiracy claim was based on coordinated actions among officers and other city employees.
What the Court Decided
The Fifth Circuit held that the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine bars § 1983 conspiracy claims against employees of the same entity. Citing Benningfield v. City of Houston, the court stated: “The City of Houston is a single legal entity and, as a matter of law, its employees cannot conspire among themselves.”
A conspiracy requires an agreement between two or more legally distinct persons or entities. When all the alleged conspirators are employees of the same governmental body acting within the scope of their employment, the legal entity is treated as a single actor incapable of conspiring with itself.
Why This Case Matters for Your § 1983 Case
The intracorporate conspiracy doctrine. If you believe multiple officers or government employees worked together to violate your rights, you cannot bring a § 1983 conspiracy claim if they all work for the same entity (city, county, department). The law treats them as one actor.
Focus on substantive claims instead. If multiple officers from the same department violated your rights, a conspiracy theory adds nothing when all participants are employed by the same entity. Pursue individual liability claims against each officer instead.
Key Takeaway
You cannot sue multiple employees of the same city, county, or governmental entity for conspiring to violate your civil rights under § 1983. The intracorporate conspiracy doctrine treats a single governmental entity and its employees as one legal person, making internal “conspiracy” a legal impossibility. Instead, focus your claims on the individual constitutional violations committed by each officer and, where appropriate, on municipal liability under Monell.