Opinion ID: 433073
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Standing of Private Plaintiffs

Text: 16 Although four of the named plaintiffs did possess the educational requirements at all pertinent times, the plaintiff Gambrell's application to take the examination for social worker was rejected in 1971 because she lacked the educational requirements. She completed the educational requirements in May, 1972, before suit was filed on January 15, 1973. The defendants rely on Payne v. Travenol Laboratories, Inc., 565 F.2d 895, 898 (5th Cir.1978), where the plaintiffs had fulfilled the [educational] requirement prior to submitting applications for employment. Id. Here, however, Ms. Gambrell as named plaintiff had been denied an opportunity for employment at the time she applied for employment because she lacked the (allegedly discriminatory) educational requirement. 17 Gambrell asserts a claim for monetary damages due to the allegedly wrongful denial of employment opportunity to her because of the allegedly discriminatory educational requirement. The Supreme Court has recognized that a cause of action for monetary damages is not lost by a cessation of the original violation. Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 495, 496, 89 S.Ct. 1944, 1950, 1951, 23 L.Ed.2d 491 (1969). Likewise, standing to sue for accrued monetary damages is not lost because the injury has abated at the time the complaint is filed. A party who was denied employment because of an educational requirement which she has subsequently met, has no less stake in the litigation for the deprivation which occurred prior to obtaining her degree, even though injunctive relief might be mooted. To conclude that a party who meets an educational prerequisite at the time the complaint is filed does not have standing to litigate an injury earlier caused by the requirement would mean that an aggrieved party would need to discontinue her educational pursuits, at least until the moment suit is filed. We believe that the district court overlooked these principles in erroneously holding that Ms. Gambrell did not have standing to assert the educational claim on her individual and class behalf. 7 18