Also known as: symbiotic
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A close mutually beneficial relationship between a state entity and a private actor in which the government derives direct financial benefits from the private operations and publicly associates itself with those operations. The relationship renders the private actor's conduct fairly attributable to the state for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
The Wilmington Parking Authority leased space in its publicly owned parking garage to the Eagle Coffee Shoppe under terms that gave the state a share of profits. Eagle refused service to Burton on racial grounds. The lease and profit sharing created the symbiotic relationship that made Eagle's discrimination attributable to the state.
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association coordinated scheduling and enforcement with public school officials who also served on its board. Brentwood Academy challenged a suspension imposed under association rules. The overlapping personnel and regulatory integration made the association's actions fairly attributable to the state.
Moose Lodge operated a private club inside a building constructed with state funds and received state liquor licenses that conferred substantial economic advantage. Irvis was denied service on racial grounds. The state's financial stake and licensing created no symbiotic relationship sufficient to attribute the club's discrimination to the state.
A state grand jury subpoenaed Branzburg to testify about sources observed during a drug investigation conducted with local police cooperation. Branzburg claimed a First Amendment privilege. The absence of any ongoing financial or operational partnership between the press and the state defeated any claim of symbiotic relationship.
Metropolitan Edison terminated Jackson's service under tariff rules approved by the state utility commission. Jackson argued the termination constituted state action. The mere existence of regulation and monopoly status without direct state participation in the specific decision created no symbiotic relationship.
Mohammed sought to adopt children after the biological father Caban had consented to the mother's placement. State adoption statutes governed the proceeding. The routine application of generally applicable family-law rules created no symbiotic relationship between the private parties and the state.
A symbiotic relationship exists when a private business operates inside a publicly owned and maintained facility, the government receives a share of gross receipts or profits, and the government actively promotes the business. These elements create financial interdependence and joint participation that make the private conduct fairly attributable to the state under the Fourteenth Amendment.
No. A bare landlord-tenant relationship with fixed rent and no profit sharing or public promotion does not establish the mutual benefits required for a symbiotic relationship. Additional facts showing direct financial gain to the state from the discriminatory conduct and active governmental endorsement are necessary.
…its action in doing so "state action" for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment. We also find absent in the instant case the symbiotic relationship presented in Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority , 365 U. S. 715 (1961). There where a private lessee, who practiced racial discrimination, leased space for a restaurant…
…Parking Authority , 365 U. S. 715 (1961). See ante , at 621, 624. But the decision in that case depended on the perceived symbiotic
…of its evasion, and for just that reason formalism has never been controlling. For example, a criterion of state action like
…elements in, the financial success of a governmental agency." 365 U. S., at 723-724. Here there is nothing approaching the symbiotic
…a function which serves the public does not make its acts state action.[^maj-7] Fourth, petitioners argue that there is a "symbiotic
When the government receives a percentage of gross receipts, its revenues rise or fall with the success of the private enterprise, including any discriminatory policies that affect patronage. This direct financial stake supplies the interdependence that supports attribution of the private conduct to the state.
Active promotion strengthens the case for a symbiotic relationship by signaling public endorsement and driving customers to the private business. While not always dispositive by itself, combined with ownership of the facility and profit sharing it demonstrates the joint participation that renders private discrimination state action.