182
Opinion of the Court
See, e. g., FDIC v. S. Prawer & Co., 829 F. Supp. 453, 457 (Me. 1993) (in Maine, "[i]t is clear . . . that aiding and abetting liability did not exist under the common law, but was entirely a creature of statute"); In re Asbestos School Litigation, No. 83-0268, 1991 U. S. Dist. LEXIS 10471, *34 (ED Pa., July 18, 1991) (cause of action under Restatement § 876 "has not yet been applied as a basis for liability" by Pennsylvania courts); Meadow Limited Partnership v. Heritage Savings and Loan Assn., 639 F. Supp. 643, 653 (ED Va. 1986) (aiding and abetting tort based on Restatement § 876 "not expressly recognized by the state courts of the Commonwealth" of Virginia); Sloane v. Fauque, 239 Mont. 383, 385, 784 P. 2d 895, 896 (1989) (aiding and abetting tort liability is issue "of first impression in Montana").
More to the point, Congress has not enacted a general civil aiding and abetting statute—either for suits by the Government (when the Government sues for civil penalties or injunctive relief) or for suits by private parties. Thus, when Congress enacts a statute under which a person may sue and recover damages from a private defendant for the defendant's violation of some statutory norm, there is no general presumption that the plaintiff may also sue aiders and abet-tors. See, e. g., Electronic Laboratory Supply Co. v. Cullen, 977 F. 2d 798, 805-806 (CA3 1992).
Congress instead has taken a statute-by-statute approach to civil aiding and abetting liability. For example, the Internal Revenue Code contains a full section governing aiding and abetting liability, complete with description of scienter and the penalties attached. 26 U. S. C. § 6701 (1988 ed. and Supp. IV). The Commodity Exchange Act contains an explicit aiding and abetting provision that applies to private suits brought under that Act. 7 U. S. C. § 25(a)(1) (1988 ed. and Supp. IV); see also, e. g., 12 U. S. C. § 93(b)(8) (1988 ed. and Supp. IV) (National Bank Act defines violations to include "aiding or abetting"); 12 U. S. C. § 504(h) (1988 ed. and Supp. IV) (Federal Reserve Act defines violations to include
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