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Federal Election Commission | United States of America

Hollenbeck v. FEC

Summary

On July 27, 1998, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FEC's motion to dismiss this case for lack of standing.

Thomas Hollenbeck, a Pennsylvania resident, had filed suit against the FEC after it had dismissed his administrative complaint alleging that a 1994 candidate for federal office had accepted excessive loans.

In order to show standing, a plaintiff must meet the requirements found in Article III of the Constitution-injury in fact, causation and redressability. The court concluded that Mr. Hollenbeck did not meet the requirements for standing because he failed to allege a "concrete and particularized injury" that came about as a result of a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Mr. Hollenbeck, the court said, only vaguely alleged an injury, claiming violations of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and the need to protect the public from abuses by federal candidates.

Source:   FEC Record — September 1998; April 1998

This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public.

The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.