Which elements must a plaintiff prove to have standing to seek judicial review of an agency action?

Which elements must a plaintiff prove to have standing to seek judicial review of an agency action?

• A. Injury in fact, causation, redressability, and the zone of interests.
• B. Standing requires only injury in fact.
• C. Causation and redressability only.
• D. Zone of interests only.

Answer: (A)

Standing to challenge an agency action requires four elements. First, injury in fact: the plaintiff must suffer a concrete, particularized harm that is actual or imminent, not a generic grievance. Second, causation: the harm must be fairly traceable to the agency action being challenged, not to some independent cause. Third, redressability: a favorable court decision must be capable of remedying the injury. Fourth, the zone of interests: the plaintiff’s claim must fall within the interests that the governing statute or regulation protects or intends to shield. If any of these pieces is missing, the suit typically cannot proceed in federal court. Injury in fact alone isn’t enough without showing a connection to the agency action and a remedy in court; causation and redressability alone don’t establish an actual injury; and the zone of interests requirement ensures the plaintiff is within the class the statute intends to protect. So the best answer is the one that includes all four elements.

Standing to challenge an agency action requires four elements. First, injury in fact: the plaintiff must suffer a concrete, particularized harm that is actual or imminent, not a generic grievance. Second, causation: the harm must be fairly traceable to the agency action being challenged, not to some independent cause. Third, redressability: a favorable court decision must be capable of remedying the injury. Fourth, the zone of interests: the plaintiff’s claim must fall within the interests that the governing statute or regulation protects or intends to shield.

If any of these pieces is missing, the suit typically cannot proceed in federal court. Injury in fact alone isn’t enough without showing a connection to the agency action and a remedy in court; causation and redressability alone don’t establish an actual injury; and the zone of interests requirement ensures the plaintiff is within the class the statute intends to protect. So the best answer is the one that includes all four elements.