FOUR WAYS TO A FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION

(Statutory violations)
I. Statute provides explicit private right of action.
A. Rare
B. Plaintiffs must still demonstrate standing (Lujan).
1. Injury in fact
2. Causation traceable to defendant
3. Judicial ability to redress injury
4. Interest within the zone of interests protected by federal law
II. Statute provides implied private right of action.
A. Cort v. Ash. test, must consider
1. Whether plaintiff is part of the class for whose benefit statute was
passed
2. Whether there was a congressional purpose to provide a private
cause of
action
3. Whether the cause of action would further the underlying purposes
of the legislative scheme
4. Whether the cause of action is a subject traditionally relegated to
state law.
III.

Statute enforceable under 42 USC 1983

A. Thiboutot established that 1983 can be used for violation of a statute
(not just violation of the Constitution).
B. Must be a violation of a federal right and not just a federal law
three part test (Wilder and Wright cases)
1. Congress intended the provision in question to benefit the plaintiff,
2. The statue unambiguously imposes an obligation on the state and
does not just reflect a congressional preference for a certain kind
of conduct.
3. Provision is not so vague and amorphous that its enforcement
would strain judicial competence, and
4. If all three are met, a rebuttable presumption is created.
C. Presumption can be rebutted if it can be shown that Congress
foreclosed resort to 1983 by including an administrative remedial
scheme in the provision (Blessing).

IV. Ex Parte Young doctrine - Decided by the United States Supreme Court
in 1908, it allows federal lawsuits against state officials who fail to
comply with federal law, however, it is limited to prospective relief and
must prove that Congress intended to make state officials subject to suit.
The Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution protects states from certain
suits as defendants in federal court. Despite that amendment, Ex parte
Young holds that plaintiffs may sue state officials in federal court to
enjoin the enforcement of unconstitutional acts.