284
Opinion of the Court
The District Court certified its judgment as final to permit the Holleys to appeal its vicarious liability determinations. See Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 54(b). The Ninth Circuit reversed those determinations. 258 F. 3d 1127 (2001). The Court of Appeals recognized that "under general principles of tort law corporate shareholders and officers usually are not held vicariously liable for an employee's action," but, in its view, "the criteria for the Fair Housing Act" are "different." Id., at 1129. That Act, it said, "specified" liability "for those who direct or control or have the right to direct or control the conduct of another"—even if they were not at all involved in the discrimination itself and even in the absence of any traditional agent/principal or employee/employer relationship, id., at 1129, 1131. Meyer, in his capacity as Triad's sole owner, had "the authority to control the acts" of a Triad salesperson. Id., at 1133. Meyer, in his capacity as Triad's officer, "did direct or control, or had the right to direct or control, the conduct" of a Triad salesperson. Ibid. And even if Meyer neither participated in nor authorized the discrimination in question, that "control" or "authority to control" is "enough . . . to hold Meyer personally liable." Ibid. The Ninth Circuit added that, for similar reasons, Meyer, in his capacity as Triad's license-related officer/ broker, was vicariously liable for Crank's discriminatory activity. Id., at 1134-1135.
Meyer sought certiorari. We granted his petition, 535 U. S. 1077 (2002), to review the Ninth Circuit's holding that the Fair Housing Act imposes principles of strict liability beyond those traditionally associated with agent/principal or employee/employer relationships. We agreed to decide whether "the criteria under the Fair Housing Act . . . are different, so that owners and officers of corporations" are automatically and "absolutely liable for an employee's or agent's violation of the Act"—even if they did not direct or authorize, and were otherwise not involved in, the unlawful discriminatory acts. Pet. for Cert. i.
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