California v. Texas

“Where a standing theory rests on speculation about the decision of an independent third party (here an individual's decision to enroll in a program like Medicaid), the plaintiff must show at the least “that third parties will likely react in predictable ways.” Department of Commerce v. New York, 588 U.S. ___, ___, 139 S. Ct. 2551, 2566, 204 L. Ed. 2d 978.

Plaintiffs appealed a judgment from the Fifth Circuit and challenged the constitutionality of a change in federal law. Plaintiffs assigned error to the court’s determination that Defendants had standing. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, required the majority of Americans to obtain minimum essential health insurance coverage, imposing a penalty on citizens who failed to comply. “Where a standing theory rests on speculation about the decision of an independent third party (here an individual's decision to enroll in a program like Medicaid), the plaintiff must show at the least “that third parties will likely react in predictable ways.” Department of Commerce v. New York, 588 U.S. ___, ___, 139 S. Ct. 2551, 2566, 204 L. Ed. 2d 978. The Court determined that Plaintiffs failed to show how the alleged harm is traceable to the Government’s action. Accordingly, the Court determined that Plaintiffs lacked Article III standing as a matter of law. Vacated and remanded.