Mass Tort Legal Framework

United for Accountability: 
Master Framework for a National Mass Tort Campaign
Summary
This campaign is the first of its kind — a coordinated national legal movement to expose and challenge the systemic harm caused by unchecked privatization, captured regulation, and constitutional betrayal. We are uniting Americans across race, class, gender, geography, and experience to reclaim our rights through law. This is a constitutional movement — not just a legal case.
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I. Introduction
This document outlines the legal structure, strategic plan, and unifying framework for the largest civil mass tort effort in United States history. United for Accountability is not a single lawsuit — it is a legally-coordinated national movement uniting Americans harmed by institutional, governmental, and corporate misconduct.
This master framework will be used to file a series of coordinated lawsuits across harm categories, jurisdictions, and constitutional violations. Each legal action will be independently actionable and collectively supported by a shared narrative, shared defendants, and interlocking facts.
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II. Legal Standing & Jurisdiction
A. Standing of Plaintiffs
Plaintiffs will include individuals, families, and classes who have experienced identifiable harm due to government action, inaction, or corporate abuse. Standing is established through:
• Direct deprivation of constitutional rights
• Disparate impact on vulnerable groups
• Pattern or practice of government or institutional abuse
• Loss of housing, income, liberty, health access, education, or public safety
B. Jurisdictional Foundation
• Federal Question Jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. §1331)
• Civil Rights Enforcement (42 U.S.C. §§1983, 1985, 1986)
• Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (28 U.S.C. §§2201, 2202)
• Supplemental State Jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. §1367)
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III. Targeted Defendants (All Levels of Power and Control)
• Federal Government: Including all three branches — Executive, Legislative, and Judicial — for acts of omission, abuse, constitutional violations, and failure to protect the public trust
• State and Local Governments: Agencies, governors, legislatures, city councils, law enforcement departments, and administrative offices
• Institutional Holders: Including hedge funds, private equity firms, and investment entities whose control over housing, food, healthcare, education, and labor has caused systemic harm
• Corporate Actors: Utilities, landlords, pharmaceutical firms, prisons-for-profit, tech monopolies, and other for-profit entities engaged in public harm or captured regulation
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IV. Constitutional Violations & Legal Theories
A. Constitutional Violations
• 14th Amendment: Equal Protection, Substantive Due Process
• 1st Amendment: Suppression of speech, protest, religion, access to petition
• 8th Amendment: Cruel and unusual punishment (housing, medical neglect, abuse)
• 9th Amendment: Protection of unenumerated rights retained by the people — including the right to dignity, well-being, sustenance, safety, and equitable participation in the economy and governance
• Public Trust Doctrine: Government failure to preserve natural and civic resources for the people
B. Legal Theories
• Negligence, Gross Negligence
• Willful Misconduct
• Fraud / Misrepresentation
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty (government duty to citizens)
• Civil Conspiracy (42 U.S.C. §1985)

V. Foundational Principle: The People, Not the Government, Are the Ultimate Interpreters of the Constitution
The Constitution was written to limit government power — not to be reinterpreted by the very branches it was designed to restrain. Over time, the courts and other governmental bodies have claimed the exclusive right to define constitutional meaning, often twisting it to serve institutional power rather than protect individual rights.
We assert:
• That the right to interpret constitutional limits rests with the people, not the institutions bound by those limits
• That allowing the government to define its own boundaries is a violation of both democratic principle and logical restraint
• That the Constitution was meant as a restraint on government, not a tool of its empowerment
• That governmental interpretation cannot override natural, civil, and unenumerated rights inherent to all people
• That the 9th Amendment protects rights not specifically listed in the Constitution — and the people have full standing to define, assert, and protect them
This mass tort campaign reflects a legal and moral stance that the American people are the rightful custodians of constitutional meaning. Courts, agencies, and legislatures are bound to enforce—not reinterpret—the document’s protections in service of power.
We seek not only damages and reform, but a return to original constitutional logic: that sovereignty belongs to the people, and that government exists solely by our consent, not our submission.
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VI. Coordinated Categories of Lawsuits (Wave Strategy)
Each category will have its own complaint, plaintiffs, and lead attorneys. However, they will reference the master framework and cite common constitutional and civil rights foundations.
This list is not exhaustive. We reserve the right to file additional lawsuits as data and declarations of harm are collected. These may include — but are not limited to — issues relating to:
• Utility pricing, monopolization, and disconnection practices
• Unjust taxation systems including sales tax burdens, regressive tax codes, and targeted audits
• Excessive or discriminatory property taxes that prevent generational wealth building
• Algorithmic injustice and digital discrimination in lending, hiring, and education
• Food insecurity and price manipulation
• Insurance denial and premium exploitation
This framework is a living legal structure. Any aspect of life that has been made unjust, unaffordable, or unlivable by captured institutions — whether public or private — will be challenged.
We will gather stories, data, and evidence in collaboration with the people, legal scholars, and civic organizations. Where the 9th Amendment applies, we will argue that all rights retained by the people — even if not explicitly listed — must be protected against systemic harm.
1. Housing and Homelessness Crisis
• Target Defendants: States, Cities, HUD, Corporate Landlords, Institutional Landholders
• Harms: Criminalization of homelessness, denial of shelter, predatory evictions, state neglect
• Claims: 14th Amendment, 8th Amendment, Equal Protection, Due Process
2. Medical Neglect and Health Disparities
• Target Defendants: HHS, CMS, Medicaid Admins, Private Equity-Owned Hospitals, Institutional Medical Conglomerates
• Harms: Denial of care, delayed access, discrimination, profit-driven denial of service
• Claims: 14th Amendment, 1st (religious denial), tort-based malpractice and civil conspiracy
3. Policing, Prisons, and Abuse of Authority
• Target Defendants: State police departments, DOCs, DHS, ICE, private prison firms
• Harms: Excessive force, unlawful detention, racial targeting, LGBTQ+ abuse, child separation
• Claims: 4th, 8th, and 14th Amendments, 42 U.S.C. §1983, §1985
4. Suppression of Speech and Protest
• Target Defendants: Federal and state governments, university systems, LEAs
• Harms: Arrests, censorship, surveillance of protected activity
• Claims: 1st Amendment, 14th Amendment
5. Environmental & Resource Exploitation
• Target Defendants: EPA, State Water Boards, Corporate Resource Extractors, Institutional Agri-Investors
• Harms: Contaminated water, air pollution, selling of public trust resources (e.g. California water rights)
• Claims: Public Trust Doctrine, 14th Amendment
6. LGBTQ+, Racial, and Gender Discrimination
• Target Defendants: State legislatures, schools, public service entities, employers, religious lobbying coalitions
• Harms: Bans, denials of care, educational exclusion, systemic discrimination
• Claims: 1st, 14th Amendments, Civil Rights Act, state anti-discrimination statutes
7. Economic Disenfranchisement
• Target Defendants: Federal Reserve, IRS, DoL, institutional investors, corporate monopolies
• Harms: Wage theft, systemic financial control, inflation manipulation, benefit denial, debt traps, housing speculation
• Claims: Due Process, Equal Protection, Breach of Fiduciary Duty
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VII. Remedies Sought
• Declaratory Relief: Formal recognition of rights violations by court order
• Injunctive Relief: Court-ordered mandates to cease policies, stop discriminatory enforcement, or restructure operations
• Compensatory Damages: For loss of housing, wages, liberty, health, safety, and dignity
• Punitive Damages: To deter future misconduct
• Structural Reform: End for-profit prison operations, mandate fair housing access, divest institutional control over public goods
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VIII. Strategic Deployment
A. Filing Structure
• Each complaint is prepared and filed individually in jurisdictions with standing plaintiffs
• Coordination through a central legal committee or national plaintiffs' coalition
• Shared legal team across cases to ensure continuity
B. Public Campaign
• www.unitedforaccountability.org serves as the public portal
• Legal updates, declarations of harm, petitions, and plaintiff onboarding
C. Mass Plaintiff Recruitment
• Intake system for declarations by category
• Automated or assisted harm categorization
• Prioritization by jurisdiction and severity
D. Media and Documentation
• Unified narrative across all lawsuits: systemic betrayal and constitutional abandonment
• Evidence libraries and living archive of stories to be submitted with legal exhibits
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IX. Public Good Pledge
This campaign will not be driven by profit. We commit that:
• All recovered funds will be directed toward public benefit, including housing initiatives, medical care, legal aid, education access, and community rebuilding
• No private profiteering will be tolerated from legal outcomes
• Independent audits and public reporting will ensure transparency
This is not about payouts — it’s about restoration.
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X. Appendix: Supporting Case Law and Precedents
• Monell v. Dept. of Social Services (1978) — Municipalities can be liable under §1983 for policies or customs that cause constitutional violations
• Brown v. Plata (2011) — Prison overcrowding and neglect constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment
• Goldberg v. Kelly (1970) — Due process must be provided before termination of public assistance benefits
• West v. Atkins (1988) — Private contractors operating under color of state law are liable under §1983
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Agents (1971) — Federal officials can be held personally liable for constitutional violations
These cases collectively support the legitimacy of structural constitutional claims against both public and private actors.
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XI. Constitutional Warning: Privatization Without Consent Is Tyranny
The Constitution vests sovereign power in the people — not corporations, not hedge funds, not asset managers. But today, core elements of our government are being quietly sold off, outsourced, or co-opted by private equity and institutional investors who operate outside the bounds of democratic oversight.
We assert that:
• Government officials — through intentional neglect, deregulation, and privatization — are transferring control of public functions to unelected, unaccountable private interests
• This transformation is occurring without the consent of the governed, in violation of the foundational American principle
• The resulting structure is no longer representative democracy, but a system of economic control and extraction
• This systemic shift constitutes a modern form of tyranny, where governance is shaped not by the public good, but by the interests of elite institutional holders
• Special interests have replaced the rule of law with the rule of capital, and in doing so, have unlawfully reshaped the government itself
We invoke this legal campaign not only to restore individual rights — but to resist the unauthorized transformation of our nation into a system of corporate rule.
If laws, budgets, and institutions serve private ownership rather than public welfare, then the people are no longer free — they are managed.
This mass tort is a lawful demand: Return the government to the governed.
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XII. Future Tools and Mechanisms of Accountability
This campaign is not a one-time legal action — it is the foundation of a national legal infrastructure to challenge systemic harm wherever it appears. We are developing tools to expand access and participation, including:
• AI-powered intake and triage systems to categorize harms by region, type, and urgency
• Legal matching tools to connect plaintiffs to volunteer and partner attorneys
• Real-time harm tracking dashboards to visualize systemic patterns
• People’s Declarations Platform allowing individuals to submit stories, evidence, and demand legal review
These tools will help enforce the protections of the 9th Amendment by surfacing patterns of injustice the Constitution is meant to prevent — even if modern institutions try to deny them.
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XIII. Standing to Represent Others: Third-Party and Public Interest Harm
Not all harm is direct — but it is still actionable. In many instances, systemic injustice is designed to silence, isolate, or disempower those it targets. This framework therefore includes claims brought under third-party standing, associational standing, and public interest standing, recognizing that not all victims are able to come forward.
We assert:
• That individuals and organizations may bring claims on behalf of others whose rights are being violated when those individuals face barriers to justice
• That the government cannot design harm in such a way that structurally prevents people from defending themselves in court
• That standing exists when rights violations are broad, structural, and impact a definable class — even if the plaintiff’s harm is representative, rather than direct
• That the public itself has standing when constitutional systems, public resources, or human dignity are systemically undermined
This includes:
• Filing on behalf of unhoused persons, prisoners, or youth in state custody who cannot safely bring suit
• Advocacy groups or coalitions filing in associational standing for members or communities
• Campaigns asserting public interest harm from systemic denial of access, voice, or liberty
We also invoke “jus tertii” — the right to assert the rights of third parties when justice demands it, especially when the government or institutions have created mechanisms to suppress or silence victims.
United for Accountability is a collective legal shield for all Americans — including those who cannot yet speak for themselves.
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XIV. Property Tax and Land Seizure as a Tool of Corporate Capture
Property taxes — originally a mechanism to fund public services — have become a quiet tool of land dispossession and state-enabled capture. When states impose interest, penalties, or seize property through tax liens — especially when there are no heirs or protections in place — the government effectively sets itself up as a default beneficiary.
We assert that this practice:
• Enables economic dispossession under color of law
• Disproportionately affects elderly, disabled, low-income, and heirless homeowners
• Creates a pipeline from public-to-private ownership, enabling institutional investors and developers to capture land once protected by generational legacy or individual ownership
This may violate:
• The 5th Amendment’s Takings Clause — especially when the full value of the property is not returned to the original owner
• The 14th Amendment’s Due Process protections — through disproportionate seizure and opaque legal procedures
• The Public Trust Doctrine — when land reclaimed by the state is auctioned to private developers rather than held in trust for public benefit
• The 9th Amendment — as this undermines dignity, inheritance rights, and long-term security
United for Accountability will include property tax abuse in its legal campaign and call for a new standard of protection: that homeownership is not a conditional lease from the state, but a constitutional right to shelter, security, and generational equity.
This issue particularly affects:
• Seniors living on fixed incomes
• Black and Indigenous families who have faced historical dispossession
• Rural landowners with limited access to legal recourse
Our campaign will work to:
• End the sale of property tax liens to private investors
• Require due process and notice that ensures homeowners can redeem their property
• Create legal protections for heirless estates and prevent automatic state or institutional capture
This section formally classifies property tax misuse as a structural and constitutional harm worthy of mass tort relief and constitutional review.
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XV. Congressional Capture and the Right to Representation Under the 9th Amendment
The 9th Amendment affirms that the people retain rights beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution. Among these is the fundamental, assumed right to authentic representation — that our elected officials act on behalf of their constituents, not financial donors or corporate lobbies.
We assert that:
• Congressional capture by special interests is a structural harm that violates the spirit and function of representative democracy.
• When legislative outcomes are shaped by moneyed influence, the people are deprived of a right so fundamental that it need not be written: the right to a government that serves them.
• This is a violation not just of public trust, but of the unenumerated constitutional right to participatory, representative governance.
This dynamic produces:
• Laws and regulatory structures that protect corporations at the expense of people
• A two-tiered system of influence, where access and voice are bought, not earned by public need or constitutional merit
• A breakdown in accountability, as captured lawmakers shield harmful actors from legal, civil, or financial consequence
The harms of congressional capture are felt through:
• Inaction on healthcare access, living wages, public housing, and education
• Active protection of predatory industries — such as for-profit prisons, private equity housing conglomerates, and exploitative insurance models
• Legislative indifference to mass surveillance, suppression of protest, and systemic racism
By invoking the 9th Amendment, we declare:
The people have the inherent right to a representative Congress — one that acts in their interest, not in service of donors.
United for Accountability includes this violation as a constitutional breach of duty and a form of institutional fraud. A government that answers to capital, not citizens, has lost its legitimacy — and the people have standing to challenge it.
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XVI. Defining Harm in Legal Terms
To build a unified legal theory across jurisdictions and categories, United for Accountability defines harm in accordance with constitutional, tort, and civil rights principles.
Harm includes, but is not limited to:
• Constitutional Harm: Deprivation of a protected liberty or property interest, suppression of speech, denial of due process, or infringement of rights protected under the 1st, 4th, 8th, 9th, and 14th Amendments.
• Civil Rights Harm: Violations committed by state actors or institutions under color of law, including discrimination, unlawful detention, denial of services or benefits, or systemic exclusion.
• Tort-Based Harm: Physical, emotional, reputational, or financial injury caused by negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct — whether committed by private entities, public servants, or institutional actors.
• Structural Harm: Injury resulting from policies, practices, or corporate arrangements that create unequal access, systemic oppression, or material deprivation, even in the absence of a single individual actor.
• Public Harm: Broad-based injury to democratic function, environmental stability, economic participation, or community health, including when no single plaintiff can claim exclusive injury.
This definition enables standing to be established in both direct and representative capacities, and empowers this framework to address injury that may otherwise be dismissed due to fragmentation, normalization, or lack of precedent.
Where the 9th Amendment applies, harm may also encompass deprivation of inherent or unenumerated rights, including but not limited to:
• Dignity
• Bodily autonomy
• Privacy
• Economic survivability
• Access to truthful information
• Collective security and public safety
This comprehensive approach ensures that no harm — whether individual or systemic — is left outside the reach of constitutional justice.
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Prepared for legal review and adaptation for federal and state filing.
This is a constitutional movement — not just a legal case.

Drafted by: Vincent Cordova
Email: vcordova@vincentcordova.com