Opinion ID: 2823788
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Test for Standing

Text: Â¶14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â In order to establish standing to sue, a plaintiff must satisfy two elements. First, he must show that he suffered an injury in fact; second, he must demonstrate that his injury pertains to a legally protected interest. Wimberly v. Ettenberg, 570 P.2d 535, 539 (Colo. 1977). Assuming, without deciding, that Petitioners here have alleged an injury in fact, we consider whether that injury implicates a legally protected interest. Â¶15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â In the statutory context, whether the plaintiffâs alleged injury involves a legally protected interest turns on âwhether the plaintiff has a claim for relief underâ the statute at issue. Ainscough, 90 P.3d at 856. Generally, if the legislature âenact[s] a particular administrative remedy to redress a statutory violation,â that decision âis consistent with a legislative intent to preclude a private civil remedy for breach of the statutory duty.â Allstate Ins. Co. v. Parfrey, 830 P.2d 905, 910 (Colo. 1992). But if the statute âis totally silent on the matter of remedy,â then the court âmust determine whether a private civil remedy reasonably may be implied.â Id. To answer this question, the court must examine three factors: (1) âwhether the plaintiff is within the class of persons intended to be benefitted by the legislative enactmentâ; (2) âwhether the legislature intended to create, albeit implicitly, a private right of actionâ; andÂ (3) âwhether an implied civil remedy would be consistent with the purposes of the legislative scheme.â Id. at 911. 9 Â¶16Â Â Â Â Â Â Â With these principles in mind, we now address whether the Act confers a legally protected interest upon Petitioners.