Meyer v. Holley, 537 U.S. 280, 10 (2003)

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Cite as: 537 U. S. 280 (2003)

Opinion of the Court

Finally, we have found no convincing argument in support of the Ninth Circuit's decision to apply nontraditional vicarious liability principles—a decision that respondents do not defend and in fact concede is incorrect. See Brief for Respondents 6, 10-11, 43 (conceding that traditional vicarious liability rules apply); Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 8, 22. The Ninth Circuit rested that decision primarily upon the HUD regulation to which we have referred. The Ninth Circuit underscored the phrase " 'or has the right to direct or contro[l] the conduct of another person.' " 258 F. 3d, at 1130. Its opinion did not explain, however, why the Ninth Circuit did not read these words as modified by the subsequent words that limited vicarious liability to actions taken as " 'employee or agent of the directing or controlling person.' " Id., at 1131. Taken as a whole, the regulation, in our view, says that ordinary, not unusual, rules of vicarious liability should apply.

The Ninth Circuit also referred to several cases decided in other Circuits. The actual holdings in those cases, however, do not support the kind of nontraditional vicarious liability that the Ninth Circuit applied. See Chicago v. Matchmaker Real Estate Sales Center, Inc., 982 F. 2d 1086 (CA7 1992) (defendant corporation liable for the acts of its agents; shareholder directly, not vicariously, liable); Walker v. Crigler, 976 F. 2d 900 (CA4 1992) (owner of rental property liable for the discriminatory acts of agent, the property's manager); Marr v. Rife, 503 F. 2d 735 (CA6 1974) (real estate agency's owner liable for the discriminatory acts of his agency's salespersons, but without statement of whether agency was a corporation). Nor does the language of these cases provide a convincing rationale for the Ninth Circuit's conclusions.

The Ninth Circuit further referred to an owner's or officer's "non delegable duty" not to discriminate in light of the Act's "overriding societal priority." 258 F. 3d, at 1131, 1132 (citing Chicago v. Matchmaker Real Estate Sales Center, Inc., supra, at 1096-1097, and Walker v. Crigler, supra, at

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