Municipal Liability: Refusal to Impute Punitive Damages to a Municipal Corporation for the Intentional Tort of an Employee

Authors

Thomas P. Whelley II, University of Dayton

Document Type

Notes

Abstract

Williams v. City of New York, 508 F.2d 356 (2d Cir. 1974).

In Williams v. City of New York the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied an award of exemplary damages in a suit for malicious prosecution citing as authority numerous New York state cases. New York's common law has refused to award punitive damages against a municipal corporation. Samuel Tito Williams was arrested in 1947 and accused in the murder of a young black girl. Williams' guilt was established at trial almost solely by the admission of a confession obtained in a lengthy police custodial interrogation. The jury necessarily found in convicting him of murder that his confession was voluntarily given.

Recommended Citation

Whelley, Thomas P. II (1976) "Municipal Liability: Refusal to Impute Punitive Damages to a Municipal Corporation for the Intentional Tort of an Employee," University of Dayton Law Review: Vol. 1: No. 1, Article 12.
Available at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udlr/vol1/iss1/12

Publication Date

January 1976