Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590 (5th Cir. 2009). · Go Syfert
Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590 (5th Cir. 2009). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
“applying the analysis announced by the supreme court in gonzaga ..., we hold that the ura does not provide a private right of action for monetary damages”
33 citation events (33 in the last 25 years) across 14 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Serna v. City of Colorado Springs (txwd, 2022-05-17)
Treatment trajectory · 2011 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2011 2018 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 18 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Serna v. City of Colorado Springs
W.D. Tex. · 2022 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
applying the analysis announced by the supreme court in gonzaga ..., we hold that the ura does not provide a private right of action for monetary damages
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Rollerson v. Port Freeport
S.D. Tex. · 2019 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
e hold that the ura does not provide a private right of action for monetary damages.
cited Cited as authority (rule) William Nelson, et al. v. Robert Dupree, et al.
M.D. La. · 2026 · confidence medium
Oct. 31, 2011); Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 592 (5th Cir. 2009)).) Plaintiff has not shown that he is entitled to the “extraordinary remedy” of reconsideration.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Nelson v. Dupree
M.D. La. · 2025 · confidence medium
Bank, 299 U.S. 109, 115 (1936). 38 Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 592 (5th Cir. 2009) (quoting Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, 442 U.S. 560, 568 , 99 S.Ct. 2479 , 61 L.Ed.2d 82 (1979)). imposed conditions is not a private cause of action for noncompliance but rather action by the Federal Government to terminate funds to the State.”39 The Fifth Circuit, whose rulings this Court must follow, has definitively held that “the URA does not create a private right of action for money damages” and “does not contain rights-creating language”.40 That is, even if Plaintiff’s allegat…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) B & C F D O Investments 2 L L C v. Regions Bank
W.D. La. · 2025 · confidence medium
City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 592 (Sth Cir. 2009) 3° Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, 442 U.S. 560, 568 (1979); Delancey, 570 F.3d at 593 . 3115 U.S.C. § 6801 (b) 32 Equal Access for El Paso, Inc. v. Hawkins, 509 F.3d 697, 703 (5th Cir. 2007). authorizing the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the Securities and Exchange Commission “to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter with respect to financial institutions and other persons subject to their respective jurisdiction.”*?
cited Cited as authority (rule) Serna v. City of Colorado Springs
10th Cir. · 2025 · confidence medium
Louis, 903 F.3d 698, 702-03 (8th Cir. 2018); Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 592 (5th Cir. 2009); Ackerley Commc’ns of Fla., Inc. v. Henderson, 881 F.2d 990 , 991, 993 (11th Cir. 1989).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Michael Fernandez, D.D.S., Ltd. v. Commissioner of Highways
E.D. Va. · 2023 · confidence medium
Louis, Mo., 903 F.3d 698, 703 (8th Cir. 2018) (holding no private right of action exists under 42 U.S.C. § 4622 ); Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 592 (5th Cir. 2009) (holding no private right of action exists under 42 U.S.C. § 4625 ); Clear Sky Car Wash, 910 F. Supp. 2d at 877-79 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Serna v. City of Colorado Springs
W.D. Tex. · 2023 · confidence medium
As the Colorado Defendants argued in their motion to dismiss, the URA does not provide a private federal right of action for monetary damages or other relief. 42 U.S.C. § 4602 ; Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 594 (5th Cir. 2009) (affirming summary judgment on URA claims for lack of private right of action).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Fernandez v. Commissioner of Highways (ORDER)
Va. · 2020 · confidence medium
Louis, 903 F.3d 698, 702-03 (8th Cir. 2018) (no private right of action under federal relocation assistance statute, 42 U.S.C. § 4622 ); Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 594-95 (5th Cir. 2009) (no private right of action for monetary damages under URA); Clear Sky Car Wash LLC v. City of Chesapeake, 910 F. Supp. 2d 861, 875 (E.D.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Jackson v. Standard Mortgage Corp
W.D. La. · 2019 · confidence medium
The Plaintiff’s Federal Trade Commission Act Claim and her Gramm- Leach-Bliley Act Claim “[T]he fact that a federal statute has been violated and some person harmed does not automatically give rise to a private cause of action in favor of that person.”34 Instead, the statute must either explicitly create a right of action or implicitly contain one.35 In creating a private cause of action, Congress must act unambiguously and 34 Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 592 (5th Cir. 2009) (quoting Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, 442 U.S. 560, 568 (1979) (quoting Cannon v. Univ. of Chicago…
examined Cited as authority (rule) Clear Sky Car Wash, LLC v. City of Chesapeake (4×) also: Cited "see", Cited "see, e.g."
E.D. Va. · 2012 · confidence medium
See, e.g., Munoz v. City of Philadelphia, 346 Fed.Appx. 766 , 769 n. 6 (3d Cir.2009) (unpublished) (“We highly doubt whether, in light of Gonzaga v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273, 122 S.Ct. 2268 , 153 L.Ed.2d 309 (2002), 42 U.S.C. § 4625 (a) does create a private right enforceable under § 1983.”); Delancey, 570 F.3d at 595 (holding that “the URA provision here[, § 4625,] does not evidence Congressional intent to create a private right of action for money damages” in light of Gonzaga’s guidance); Faylor v. Szupper, 411 Fed.Appx. 525 , 531 n. 7 (3d Cir.2011) (per curiam) (noting that “it is u…
cited Cited "see" Nimco Real Estate Associates, et al. v. Nadeau, et al.
D.N.H. · 2017 · signal: see · confidence high
See Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590 , 594 n.7 (5th Cir. 2009).
cited Cited "see" NIMCO Real Estate Associates, LLC, et al. v. Nadeau, et al.
D.N.H. · 2017 · signal: see · confidence high
See Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590 , 594 n.7 (5th Cir. 2009).
discussed Cited "see" State v. United States
N.D. Ala. · 2016 · signal: see · confidence high
See Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 594 (5th Cir.2009) (finding a statute requiring a federal agency to provide certain advisory services to displaced persons did not contain rights-creating language and did not create an implied right of action in favor of the displaced persons); Texas Health and Human Services Comm’n v. United States of America, No. 15-cv-3851, Order at 7-9 (N.D.Tex.
discussed Cited "see" Jensen Field Relocation Claims Jensen Field, Inc. v. Board of Regents
Minn. Ct. App. · 2012 · signal: see · confidence high
Such relocation assistance advisory services include assisting a displaced business to “obtain[ ] and becom[e] established in a suitable replacement location.” Id. § 4625(c)(4); see 49 C.F.R. § 24.205 (e)(2)(i) (2010) (requiring advisory programs to include services to help businesses determine their needs and to explain the process of attaining relocation benefits and requiring such services to include “a personal interview with each business” to assess the business’s needs); see generally Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 595 (5th Cir.2009) (holding that section 4625(b)-(…
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Texas Health & Human Services Commission v. United States
N.D. Tex. · 2016 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence medium
See, e.g., Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 594 (5th Cir.2009) (finding no cause of action to enforce statute that directed federal agency to provide certain information and services to displaced persons); see also Gonzaga Univ. v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273 , 284 n.3, 122 S.Ct. 2268 , 153 L.Ed.2d 309 (2002) (noting courts “rarely impute to Congress an intent to create a private right of action” where a statute does not include right- or duty-creating language).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Rollock Company v. United States
Fed. Cl. · 2014 · signal: see also · confidence medium
See also Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 593-95 (5th Cir.2009) (holding that policy provisions of the Relocation Act do not create any private rights of action for money damages, applying the factors enunciated in Gonzaga University v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273, 280 , 122 S.Ct. 2268 , 153 L.Ed.2d 309 (2002)).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Cheryl Faylor v. Michael Szupper
3rd Cir. · 2011 · signal: compare · confidence medium
Compare Delancey v. City of Austin, 570 F.3d 590, 594 (5th Cir.2009) (holding that the URA does not create a private right of action for money damages), with Pietroniro v. Borough of Oceanport, 764 F.2d 976, 980 (3d Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1020 , 106 S.Ct. 570 , 88 L.Ed.2d 554 (1985) (holding that a private right of action existed against state officials for violations of § 4625 of the URA due to the absence of a comprehensive enforcement scheme under the Act).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Curtis L. DELANCEY; Marian D. Delancey, Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
CITY OF AUSTIN, Defendant-Appellee
08-50934.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Jun 3, 2009.
570 F.3d 590
Michael Maurice Probus, Jr., Probus Law firm PLLC, Austin, TX, for Plaintiffs-Appellants., Meghan Lee Riley, City of Austin, Law Dept., Austin, TX, for Defendant-Appellee.
Wiener, Dennis, Clement.
Cited by 18 opinions  |  Published
DENNIS, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiffs-Appellants Curtis L. Delancey and Marian D. Delancey (“Plaintiffs”) sued Defendant-Appellee the City of Austin (“the City”) seeking monetary damages under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act (“URA”), 42 U.S.C. § 4601 et seq. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the City, holding that the URA does not provide a private right of action for monetary damages. We AFFIRM for essentially the reasons stated by the district court.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs owned a parcel of land located at 5106 General Aviation Avenue in Austin, Texas (“the Property”); the Property is adjacent to the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Plaintiffs operated an automobile salvage yard business and a wrecker service business on the Property.

On January 14, 2007, Plaintiffs executed a warranty deed transferring the Property to the City in exchange for $600,000 plus relocation benefits. At the January 14 closing, Plaintiffs and the City also executed a non-resident rental agreement for the Plaintiffs’ continued short-term occupancy of the Property. On the same day, the City provided Plaintiffs written notice to vacate the Property within 90 days. [1]

Plaintiffs purchased another parcel of land from which they could operate then-wrecker business but which, due to a lack of space, was unsuitable for operating their automobile salvage business. Thus, Plaintiffs continued to store 250 non-operable vehicles on the Property.

[*592] In a letter dated August 29, 2007, the City gave Plaintiffs notice to vacate the Property by September 28, 2007. Plaintiffs then initiated the instant suit, seeking monetary damages under the URA, 42 U.S.C. § 4601 et seq., on the grounds that the City had not fulfilled its obligation to provide relocation assistance under the URA; Plaintiffs also asserted a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, arguing that the City, through the actions of its employee Melinda Ruby, had deprived Plaintiffs of their URA rights. Additionally, Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the City from requiring Plaintiffs to vacate the Property.

After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the district court denied Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. [2] The City then filed a motion for summary judgment, which the district court granted on the grounds that (1) the URA does not provide a private right of action for monetary damages, and (2) Ms. Ruby, whose actions form the apparent basis of Plaintiffs’ § 1983 claim, does not qualify as a policymaker for the City. Based on this grant of summary judgment, the district court entered final judgment dismissing Plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice, and Plaintiffs timely appealed.

DISCUSSION

Applying the analysis announced by the Supreme Court in Gonzaga University v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273, 280, 122 S.Ct. 2268, 153 L.Ed.2d 309 (2002), we hold that the URA does not provide a private right of action for monetary damages, and accordingly we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the City. [3]

“[T]he fact that a federal statute has been violated and some person harmed does not automatically give rise to a private cause of action in favor of that person.” Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, 442 U.S. 560, 568, 99 S.Ct. 2479, 61 L.Ed.2d 82 (1979) (quoting Cannon v. Univ. of Chicago, 441 U.S. 677, 688, 99 S.Ct. 1946, 60 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). Rather, “[i]n legislation enacted pursuant to the spending power, the typical remedy for[*593] state noncompliance with federally imposed conditions is not a private cause of action- for noncompliance but rather action by the Federal Government to terminate funds to the State.” Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 280, 122 S.Ct. 2268 (quoting Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman, 451 U.S. 1, 28, 101 S.Ct. 1531, 67 L.Ed.2d 694 (1981)). In enacting a federal statute, Congress may choose to confer individual rights subject to private enforcement, but to do so the statute must “speak with a clear voice” and “unambiguously]” confer those rights. Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 280, 122 S.Ct. 2268. Thus, “the question whether a statute creates a cause of action, either expressly or by implication, is basically a matter of statutory construction,” Transamerica Mortgage Advisors Inc. v. Lewis, 444 U.S. 11, 15, 100 S.Ct. 242, 62 L.Ed.2d 146 (1979), and “the judicial task is to interpret the statute Congress has passed to determine whether it displays an intent to create not just a private right but also a private remedy.” Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275, 286, 121 S.Ct. 1511, 149 L.Ed.2d 517 (2001).

Here, Plaintiffs contend that the URA creates an implied private right of action. [4] In Gonzaga, the Supreme Court discussed the test for determining whether a statute implies a private right of action, stating that “for Congress to create new rights enforceable under- an implied private right of action” it must do so in “clear and unambiguous terms.” 536 U.S. at 290, 122 S.Ct. 2268; [5] see also Equal Access for El Paso, Inc. v. Hawkins, 509 F.3d 697, 702-03 (5th Cir.2007) (“[T]he Supreme Court in Gonzaga expressly rejected ‘the notion that our cases permit anything short of an unambiguously conferred right to support a cause of action brought under § 1983.’ ” (quoting Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 283, 122 S.Ct. 2268)). Further, in Gonzaga the Court set forth factors that indicate Congressional intent to create individual rights enforceable through private rights of action, explaining that “for a statute to create such private rights, its text must be phrased in terms of the persons benefit-ted.” Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 284, 122 S.Ct. 2268 (internal quotations omitted); see also Equal Access for El Paso, 509 F.3d at 702 (“[A] claim based on a statutory violation is enforceable under § 1983 only when the statute creates ‘rights, privileges, or immunities’ in the particular plaintiff.” (quoting Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 285, 122 5. Ct. 2268)). As examples of statutes phrased to create enforceable individual rights, the Court cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, [6] which[*594] contain “an unmistakable focus on the benefited class.” Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 284, 122 S.Ct. 2268 (internal quotations omitted). Conversely, the Court has also noted that “statutes that focus on the person regulated rather than the individuals protected create ‘no implication of an intent to confer rights on a particular class of persons.’ ” Alexander, 532 U.S. at 289, 121 S.Ct. 1511 (quoting California v. Sierra Club, 451 U.S. 287, 294, 101 S.Ct. 1775, 68 L.Ed.2d 101 (1981)).

Applying these factors in Gonzaga, the Court held that the statute under consideration, a provision of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (“FERPA”), failed to confer enforceable rights because it lacked critical rights-creating language and instead merely directed the Secretary of Education in institutional policy and practice. See Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 287-88, 122 S.Ct. 2268; see also Equal Access for El Paso, 509 F.3d at 702-03.

The URA provision at issue in the instant case is similar, in respect to lack of rights-creating indicia, to the FERPA provision in Gonzaga, and for many of the same reasons discussed in Gonzaga, we hold that the URA does not create a private right of action for money damages. The relevant URA provisions, which Plaintiffs contend create a private right of action in this case, read as follows:

(b) Availability of advisory services The head of any displacing agency shall ensure that the relocation assistance advisory services described in subsection
(c) of this section are made available to all persons displaced by such agency. If such agency head determines that any person occupying property immediately adjacent to the property where the displacing activity occurs is caused substantial economic injury as a result thereof, the agency head may make available to such person such advisory services.
(c) Measures, facilities, or services; description
Each relocation assistance advisory program required by subsection (b) of this section shall include such measures, facilities, or services as may be necessary or appropriate in order to—
(1) determine, and make timely recommendations on, the needs and preferences, if any, of displaced persons for relocation assistance;
(2) provide current and continuing information on the availability, sales prices, and rental charges of comparable replacement dwellings for displaced homeowners and tenants and suitable locations for businesses and farm operations;
(4) assist a person displaced from a business or farm operation in obtaining and becoming established in a suitable replacement location;
(5) supply (A) information concerning other Federal and State programs which may be of assistance to displaced persons, and (B) technical assistance to such persons in applying for assistance under such programs; and
(6) provide other advisory services to displaced persons in order to minimize hardships to such persons in adjusting to relocation.

42 U.S.C. § 4625(b)-(e). Like the FERPA provision addressed in Gonzaga, the statutory provisions above are directed at the “head of any displacing agency” rather than at the individuals benefitted by the statute. See Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 287,122 S.Ct. 2268; Alexander, 532 U.S. at 289, 121 S.Ct. 1511 (“Statutes that focus on the person regulated rather than the individuals protected create ‘no implication of an intent to confer rights on a particular class of persons.’ ”). Further, the URA does not contain rights-creating language like[*595] that in Titles VI and IX. Instead it prescribes a policy and practice for administering relocation assistance. See 42 U.S.C. § 4625(b) (“The head of any displacing agency shall ensure that the relocation assistance advisory services described in subsection (c) of this section are made available to all persons displaced by such agency”); 42 U.S.C. § 4625(c) (“Each relocation assistance advisory program required by subsection (b) of this section shall include such measures, facilities, or services as may be necessary or appropriate .... ”); see also 42 U.S.C. § 4621(b) (“This subchapter [of the URA] establishes a uniform, policy for the fair and equitable treatment of persons displaced as a direct result of programs or projects undertaken by a Federal agency or with Federal financial assistance.”) (emphasis added). The Supreme Court found similar “policy or practice” language insufficient to create an individual right of action in Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 287-88, 122 S.Ct. 2268. See also Equal Access for El Paso, 509 F.3d at 703 (“[A] statutory provision fails to confer enforceable rights when it entirely lack[s] the sort of rights-creating language critical to showing the requisite Congressional intent to create new rights; when it speak[s] only in terms of institutional policy and practice, not individual concerns; and when it has an aggregate focus [and is] not concerned with whether the needs of any particular person have been satisfied.” (internal quotations and citations omitted)). Thus, the URA provision here does not evidence Congressional intent to create a private right of action for money damages. [7] Accordingly, we AFFIRM the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the City.

1

. The City subsequently extended this 90 day period.

2

. Plaintiffs do not appeal the denial of injunctive relief.

3

. We also affirm the grant of summary judgment on Plaintiffs' § 1983 claim. The district court correctly concluded that Plaintiffs’ § 1983 claim against the City must fail as a matter of law because Plaintiffs cannot establish that Ms. Ruby is a policymaker for the City. It has been long established that "a municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat superior theory.” Monell v. Dept. of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 690, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). "Instead, it is when execution of a government’s policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the injury that the government as an entity is responsible under § 1983.” Id. at 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018. The district court concluded that Ms. Ruby’s actions could not represent the official policy of the City because the City of Austin Charter vests all policymaking authority with the City Council, see City of Austin Charter Art. 1 § 2 ("all powers of the city shall be vested in and exercised by an elective council, hereinafter referred to as 'the council,' which shall enact legislation, adopt budgets, determine policies, and appoint the city manager who shall execute the laws and administer the government of the city”), and because Plaintiffs produced no evidence that the City of Austin expressly or impliedly acknowledged that Ms. Ruby acted as a policymaker, see Webster v. City of Houston, 735 F.2d 838, 841 (5th Cir.1984) (en banc); cf. Flores v. Cameron County, 92 F.3d 258, 269 (5th Cir.1996) ("[t]he Supreme Court has precluded the possibility of finding a county employee to possess 'de facto policy-making authority’ ”) (citing City of St. Louis v. Praprotnik, 485 U.S. 112, 131, 108 S.Ct. 915, 99 L.Ed.2d 107 (1988)). For these same reasons, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment.

4

. Plaintiffs do not dispute that the text of the URA conveys no express private right of action.

5

. Though the precise issue in Gonzaga was whether a statute created rights enforceable via a § 1983 action, the Court noted that "[a] court's role in discerning whether personal rights exist in the § 1983 context should [] not differ from its role in discerning whether personal rights exist in the implied right of action context. Both inquiries simply require a determination as to whether or not Congress intended to confer individual rights upon a class of beneficiaries.” Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 285, 122 S.Ct. 2268 (internal citations omitted).

6

. Title VI provides: "No person in the United States shall ... be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Fed- ' eral financial assistance” on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Title IX provides: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, ... be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Where a statute does not include this sort of explicit “right- or duty-creating language,” we rarely impute to Congress an intent to create a private right of action.

Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 284 n. 3, 122 S.Ct. 2268 (internal citations omitted).

7

. Plaintiffs argue that other circuits have recognized private rights of action under the URA in Pou Pacheco v. Aquino, 833 F.2d 392, 398-400 (1st Cir.1987) and Tullock v. State Highway Commission, 507 F.2d 712, 715-17 (8th Cir.1974). However, this argument, premised on cases that predate and conflict with Gonzaga, is unpersuasive. Cf. Equal Access for El Paso, 509 F.3d at 704 (rejecting, as inconsistent with Gonzaga, a prior circuit precedent permitting § 1983 suits to enforce the Equal Access provision of the Medicaid Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396a). Moreover, neither Pou Pacheco, 833 F.2d at 396-400, which affirmed the reimbursement of certain expenses under the URA, nor Tullock, 507 F.2d at 716-17, which held that a regulation limiting reimbursements was inconsistent with the URA, are analogous to the instant suit in which Plaintiffs seek monetary damages for alleged URA violations. Plaintiffs have presented no post-Gonzaga authority, either from this circuit or elsewhere, to support a private right of action for such damages under the URA. See Alexander, 532 U.S. at 286, 121 S.Ct. 1511 (noting that there must be “an intent to create not just a private right but also a private remedy”).