628
Ginsburg, J., dissenting
tion and does not challenge the District Court's finding that the agency in question (the Department of Labor) acted in an intentional or willful manner. Tr. of Oral Arg. 35; Brief for Respondent (I). Nor does the Government here contest that Buck Doe, the only petitioner before us, suffered an "adverse effect" from the Privacy Act violation. The case therefore cleanly presents a sole issue for this Court's resolution: Does a claimant who has suffered an "adverse effect"— in this case and typically, emotional anguish—from a federal agency's intentional or willful Privacy Act violation, but has proved no "actual damages" beyond psychological harm, qualify as "a person entitled to recovery" within the meaning of § 552a(g)(4)(A)? In accord with Circuit Judge Michael, who disagreed with the Fourth Circuit's majority on the need to show actual damages, I would answer that question yes.
Section 552a(g)(4)(A) affords a remedy for violation of a Privacy Act right safeguarded by § 552a(g)(1)(C) or (D). The words "a person entitled to recovery," as used in § 552a(g)(4)(A)'s remedial prescription, are most sensibly read to include anyone experiencing an "adverse effect" as a consequence of an agency's intentional or willful commission of a Privacy Act violation of the kind described in § 552a(g)(1)(C) or (D). The Act's text, structure, and purpose warrant this construction, under which Doe need not show a current pecuniary loss, or "actual damages" of some other sort, to recover the minimum award of $1,000, attorney's fees, and costs.
I
Section 552a(g)(4) provides:
"In any suit brought under the provisions of subsection (g)(1)(C) or (D) of this section in which the court determines that the agency acted in a manner which was intentional or willful, the United States shall be liable to the individual in an amount equal to the sum of—
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