42 U.S.C. § 8435
Section 8435 · Citizens suits
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case Marek v. Chesny (1985)
Most recently applied in Kenny A. ex rel. Winn v. Perdue (November 2008)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, any aggrieved person may commence a civil action for mandatory or prohibitive injunctive relief, including interim equitable relief, against the Secretary or the head of any Federal agency which has a responsibility under this chapter if there is an alleged failure of the Secretary or such agency head to perform any act or duty under this chapter which is not discretionary. The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction over actions brought under this section, without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties.
No action may be commenced under subsection (a) of this section before the 60th calendar day after the date on which the plaintiff has given notice of such action to the Secretary or the agency head involved. Notice under this subsection shall be given in such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by rule.
In any action brought under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary, if not a party, may intervene as a matter of right.
The court, in issuing any final order in any action brought under subsection (a) of this section, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to any party, whenever the court determines such award is appropriate.
Nothing in this section shall restrict any right which any aggrieved person (or class of aggrieved persons) may have under any statute or common law to seek enforcement of this chapter or any rule thereunder, or to seek any other relief (including relief against the Secretary or the agency head involved).