Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Comcast: Section 1981 Requires But-For Causation From Pleading Through Judgment

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 18, 2026

Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American-Owned Media arose from a television-network operator’s allegation that Comcast declined carriage because of the operator’s race, while Comcast asserted ordinary programming and business reasons.

The complaint alleged discriminatory interference with contracting

Entertainment Studios Networks alleged that Comcast repeatedly declined to carry its channels and that racial animus infected the decision. The district court dismissed after concluding the allegations did not plausibly connect race to the refusal.

The ordinary causation rule controlled

Section 1981 protects equal contract rights but does not specify a different causal standard. The Court applied the traditional rule requiring the plaintiff to show the injury would not have occurred but for the defendant’s unlawful conduct.

The burden remains with the plaintiff

The Court rejected a framework that would require only a showing that race played some role and then shift the burden to the defendant. The plaintiff carries but-for causation at trial and must plausibly allege it to survive dismissal.

The Ninth Circuit’s judgment was vacated

The case returned for application of the correct standard, including whether the complaint could satisfy ordinary pleading rules. The Court did not decide whether Comcast had in fact discriminated.

Key takeaways

• Identify the impaired contract or proposed contractual relationship.
• Plead facts connecting race to the challenged decision, not conclusions alone.
• Test whether the same outcome would have occurred absent the alleged racial motive.
• Preserve contemporaneous business reasons, comparators, communications, and decision chronology.