18 CFR § 1309.19 - When may a complainant file a civil action?

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t18/s1309.19"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "18 CFR § 1309.19 - When may a complainant file a civil action?"
title_number: 18
title_name: "Conservation of Power and Water Resources"
section_number: "1309.19"
section_name: "When may a complainant file a civil action?"
chapter_name: "TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY"
part_number: "1309"
part_name: "NONDISCRIMINATION WITH RESPECT TO AGE"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "TVA Act of 1933, 48 Stat. 58 (1933), as amended, 16 U.S.C. 831-831dd (1976), and sec. 304 of the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 89 Stat 729 (1975), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6103 (1976)."
regulatory_source: "46 FR 30811, June 11, 1981, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "1309"
---


# 1309.19 When may a complainant file a civil action?

(a) A complainant may file a civil action following the exhaustion of administrative remedies under the Act. Administrative remedies are exhausted if:

(1) 180 days have elapsed since the complainant filed the complaint and TVA has made no finding with regard to the complaint; or

(2) TVA issues any finding in favor of the recipient.

(b) If either of the conditions set forth in paragraph (a) of this section is satisfied, TVA shall:

(1) Promptly advise the complainant of this fact; and

(2) Advise the complainant of his or her right, under Section 305(e) of the Act, to bring a civil action for injunctive relief that will effect the purposes of the Act; and

(3) Inform the complainant:

(i) That a civil action can only be brought in a United States district court for the district in which the recipient is found or transacts business;

(ii) That a complainant prevailing in a civil action has the right to be awarded the costs of the action, including reasonable attorney's fees, but that these costs must be demanded in the complaint;

(iii) That before commencing the action the complainant shall give 30 days' notice by registered mail to the Secretary, the Attorney General of the United States, TVA, and the recipient;

(iv) That the notice shall state: the alleged violation of the Act; the relief requested; the court in which the action will be brought; and whether or not attorney's fees are demanded in the event the complainant prevails; and

(v) That no action shall be brought if the same alleged violation of the Act by the same recipient is the subject of a pending action in any court of the United States.