United States First Circuit

On a Nigerian national's Privacy Act claims against the secret service: (1) the Act permits an award of emotional distress damages subject to requirements for proof; (2) plaintiff's proof of emotional distress damages was insufficient; and (3) an agency may not immunize itself from liability for its unauthorized disclosure on the grounds that the records disclosed did not come from its files, but were obtained from a system of records maintained by another agency.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/15/2003
• Published 05/15/2003

Judges

• LYNCH, Circuit Judge., Before LYNCH, Circuit Judge, CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge, and HOWARD, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gordon M. Jones, III with whom Robert P. Sherman, Hutchins, Wheeler & Dittmar, John Reinstein, and ACLU of Massachusetts were on brief, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Barbara Healy Smith, Assistant U.S. Attorney, with whom Michael J. Sullivan, United States Attorney, was on brief, for appellees.