The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Comcast Corp v. National Association of African-American Owned Media that plaintiffs claiming racial animus in contracts under 42 USC § 1981 must show that race was the “but-for” cause.
The plaintiffs, Entertainment Studios Network and the National Association of African-American Owned Media (collectively ESN) alleged Comcast violated § 1981. A part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, § 1981 guarantees that all citizens have the same rights to make and enforce contracts regardless of race. According to ESN, Comcast violated the statute by refusing to contract to air TV content created by ESN.
