Court holds Privacy Act "actual damages requirement" does not require pecuniary harm
By Lauren Gelman • April 9, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I'm breaking blog silence to report on an amazing decision out of the DC Circuit holding that the federal Privacy Act's requirement that Plaintiffs show actual damages does not require pecuniary harm but can be met by a showing of emotional distress. Am. Fed'n of Gov't Employees v. Hawley, D.D.C., No. 07-00855, 3/31/08.
[T]he plaintiffs' alleged injury is not speculative nor dependent on any future event, such as a third party's misuse of the data, the court said. The court finds that plaintiffs have standing to bring their Privacy Act claim. Read more » about Court holds Privacy Act "actual damages requirement" does not require pecuniary harm
