In the 1974 case of Cort et al. v. Ash, the United States Supreme Court was asked to determine whether private shareholders could file a lawsuit for damages against corporate directors under federal law if they used corporate funds for political contributions that were illegal under state law but not explicitly prohibited by federal statute. The court ruled in favor of the defendant, stating that there is no implied right to sue unless it can be proven that Congress intended to create one when passing relevant legislation. In this instance, the court found no evidence suggesting such intent from Congress and therefore concluded that private shareholders cannot bring suit on these grounds under federal law.

In the dissenting opinion for Cort et al. v. Ash, Justice Brennan disagreed with the majority's decision to not allow shareholders to file a derivative suit under federal law against corporate directors who allegedly violated campaign finance laws by using corporate funds for political contributions. He argued that there was clear congressional intent in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to protect shareholders from such misuse of their investments and that this should be recognized as an implied private right of action under federal law. Furthermore, he contended that denying this right would undermine efforts to regulate campaign financing and prevent corruption in politics, which were key objectives of the legislation.