Can a plaintiff bring a claim under the federal mail fraud statute for civil damages?

Statutes which provide for punishment by fine or imprisonment do not create privately enforceable rights, give rise to civil liability, or provide a basis for civil suit under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981, et seq. See Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 1980). Accordingly, the district court properly dismissed the Swans' claims brought under the federal mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1341.

Private Capacity Claims

"Qualified immunity protects government officials performing discretionary functions from liability for civil damages, unless the official's conduct violates clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Camarillo v. McCarthy, 998 F.2d 638, 639 (9th Cir. 1993). "The plaintiff in a section 1983 action bears the burden of proving that the right allegedly violated was clearly established at the time of the official's allegedly impermissible conduct." Id.