Also known as: wholly-past violations · past violations
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A completed breach of legal requirements that has ended before suit is filed and poses no continuing or imminent threat. Such violations do not support claims for civil penalties in citizen suits because no ongoing harm exists to redress.
Indigent litigants sue a state court administrator in federal court seeking refunds of filing fees collected over prior years in violation of federal waiver rules. The complaint also requests an injunction against future collections. The court dismisses the refund claims because they seek retroactive monetary relief from the state treasury for completed past violations.
An environmental group sues a company under EPCRA for failing to file required reports in previous years. No ongoing or future violations are alleged. The court dismisses the action for lack of standing because the violations are wholly past and civil penalties payable to the government cannot redress the plaintiffs' injury.
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Environmental groups sue a company under the Clean Water Act alleging repeated permit violations. Affidavits show members continue to avoid recreational use of nearby waters due to current discharges. The court holds that penalties remain available because the violations are not wholly past and deterrence can redress the ongoing injury.
A violation qualifies as wholly past when it has fully ended before the complaint is filed and no facts support an allegation of continuing or imminent future violations. The court then lacks jurisdiction over claims for civil penalties because such penalties cannot redress the plaintiffs' injury.
Supporting sources
The Eleventh Amendment bars retroactive monetary relief from the state treasury that compensates for past violations. It does not bar prospective injunctive relief ordering future compliance even when that relief incidentally requires state expenditures.
No. When violations are wholly past, the deterrence effect of penalties payable to the government does not provide the required redress for a private plaintiff. Standing requires an ongoing or imminent violation that penalties can deter.
Supporting sources
…past"). In short, Steel Co. held that private plaintiffs, unlike the Federal Government, may not sue to assess penalties for wholly past violations, but our decision in that case did not reach the issue of standing to seek penalties for violations that are ongoing at the time of the complaint and that could continue into the future if…