HITOSHI YOSHIKAWA V. TROY SEGUIRANT, ET AL, No. 21-15970 (9th Cir. 2023)
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Plaintiff filed this action in May 2018, alleging federal claims under Section 1981 and Section 1983 and state law claims against a building inspector Troy Seguirant, the City and County of Honolulu, and other defendants. Only Plaintiff’s Section 1981 claim against Seguirant is at issue in this appeal; the district court dismissed the Section 1983 claims against Seguirant with prejudice.
The Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s order denying qualified immunity on a claim under Section 1981, and remanding, the en banc court held that Section 1981 does not provide an implied cause of action against state actors. Joining other circuits and overruling Federation of African American Contractors v. City of Oakland, 96 F.3d 1204 (9th Cir. 1996), the en banc court held that Section 1981, as amended in 1991, establishes substantive rights that a state actor may violate but does not itself contain a remedy against a state actor for such violations. Thus, a plaintiff seeking to enforce rights secured by Section 1981 against a state actor must bring a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. The en banc court remanded with instructions to allow the plaintiff to replead his Section 1981 claim as a Section 1983 claim.
Court Description: Civil Rights Vacating the district court’s order denying qualified immunity on a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and remanding, the en banc court held that § 1981 does not provide an implied cause of action against state actors.
Joining other circuits, and overruling Federation of African American Contractors v. City of Oakland, 96 F.3d 1204 (9th Cir. 1996), the en banc court held that § 1981, as amended in 1991, establishes substantive rights that a state actor may violate but does not itself contain a remedy against a state actor for such violations. Thus, a plaintiff seeking to enforce rights secured by § 1981 against a state actor must bring a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The en banc court remanded with instructions to allow the plaintiff to replead his § 1981 claim as a § 1983 claim.
Concurring in full with the majority opinion, Judge Wardlaw, joined by Chief Judge Murguia and Judges Gould, Christen, Nguyen, Mendoza, and Desai, wrote separately to note that the legislative history of the 1991 amendments to § 1981 provided additional support for the conclusion that Congress did not intend to create an implied cause of action in § 1981.
Concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, Judge Collins, joined by Judge Callahan, concurred in the judgment as to overruling the holding of Federation that the amended § 1981 contains an implied cause of action against state actors. Judge Collins dissented as to the majority’s decision to remand rather than reclassify the plaintiff’s cause of action as a § 1983 action based on § 1981 and proceed to the merits of the appeal.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on July 25, 2022.
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