49 U.S.C. § 60121 : US Code - Section 60121: Actions by private persons

Search 49 U.S.C. § 60121 : US Code - Section 60121: Actions by private persons

(a) General Authority. - (1) A person may bring a civil action in
an appropriate district court of the United States for an
injunction against another person (including the United States
Government and other governmental authorities to the extent
permitted under the 11th amendment to the Constitution) for a
violation of this chapter or a regulation prescribed or order
issued under this chapter. However, the person -
(A) may bring the action only after 60 days after the person
has given notice of the violation to the Secretary of
Transportation or to the appropriate State authority (when the
violation is alleged to have occurred in a State certified under
section 60105 of this title) and to the person alleged to have
committed the violation;
(B) may not bring the action if the Secretary or authority has
begun and diligently is pursuing an administrative proceeding for
the violation; and
(C) may not bring the action if the Attorney General of the
United States, or the chief law enforcement officer of a State,
has begun and diligently is pursuing a judicial proceeding for
the violation.
(2) The Secretary shall prescribe the way in which notice is
given under this subsection.
(3) The Secretary, with the approval of the Attorney General, or
the Attorney General may intervene in an action under paragraph (1)
of this subsection.
(b) Costs and Fees. - The court may award costs, reasonable
expert witness fees, and a reasonable attorney's fee to a
prevailing plaintiff in a civil action under this section. The
court may award costs to a prevailing defendant when the action is
unreasonable, frivolous, or meritless. In this subsection, a
reasonable attorney's fee is a fee -
(1) based on the actual time spent and the reasonable expenses
of the attorney for legal services provided to a person under
this section; and
(2) computed at the rate prevailing for providing similar
services for actions brought in the court awarding the fee.
(c) State Violations as Violations of This Chapter. - In this
section, a violation of a safety standard or practice of a State is
deemed to be a violation of this chapter or a regulation prescribed
or order issued under this chapter only to the extent the standard
or practice is not more stringent than a comparable minimum safety
standard prescribed under this chapter.
(d) Additional Remedies. - A remedy under this section is in
addition to any other remedies provided by law. This section does
not restrict a right to relief that a person or a class of persons
may have under another law or at common law.