Texas City Wins Reversal of Black Manager’s Race Bias Verdict

The first Black city manager of Hutto, Texas, can’t keep a $7.5 million judgment on his claim that racial discrimination fueled the rescission of a $412,000 agreement that ended his tenure, the Fifth Circuit ruled.

The unanimous Tuesday ruling rejected use of the “cat’s paw” theory of liability on claims against a municipality under Monell v. Department of Social Services of New York City’s, a landmark 1978 US Supreme Court decision that allows cities to be sued for civil rights and other constitutional violations by their employees.

The cat’s paw theory imposes liability on an employer if a non-biased ...