Doe v. Chao

I largely agree with the majority’s ultimate disposition of most of this case, but this agreement in result cannot paper over my significant disagreement with the majority’s interpretation of the Privacy Act. Most fundamentally, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion in part II of its opinion that only a plaintiff who can prove actual damages is entitled to recover statutory damages under 5 U.S.C. § 552a(g)(4). Even if the statute must be narrowly construed as a waiver of sovereign immunity, it will not bear the interpretation the majority adopts today. I would hold that a…