Federal Aviation Administration, et al., Petitioners v. Stanmore Cawthon Cooper

Decided March 28, 2012. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 10-1024 · 566 U.S. 284 (2012) · Cited 461 times

Holding

The Privacy Act does not unequivocally authorize damages for mental or emotional distress and therefore does not waive the Government’s sovereign immunity from liability for such harms.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Doe v. Chao · 540 U.S. 614 (2004)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• United States v. Nordic Village, Inc. · 503 U.S. 30 (1992)
• Lane v. Pena · 518 U.S. 187 (1996)
• Richlin Security Service Co. v. Chertoff · 553 U.S. 571 (2008)
• Carey v. Piphus · 435 U.S. 247 (1978)
• Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs · 498 U.S. 89 (1990)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• Robinson v. Shell Oil Co. · 519 U.S. 337 (1997)
• United States v. Kubrick · 444 U.S. 111 (1979)
• Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Organization · 441 U.S. 600 (1979)
• Indian Towing Co. v. United States · 350 U.S. 61 (1955)
• Time, Inc. v. Hill · 385 U.S. 374 (1967)
• Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club · 463 U.S. 680 (1983)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• Dolan v. United States Postal Service · 546 U.S. 481 (2006)
• Northcross v. Memphis Board of Education · 412 U.S. 427 (1973)
• Block v. Neal · 460 U.S. 289 (1983)
• United States v. Williams · 514 U.S. 527 (1995)
• Molzof v. United States · 502 U.S. 301 (1992)
• Eastern Transportation Co. v. United States · 272 U.S. 675 (1927)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin · 599 U.S. 382 (2023)
• Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz · 601 U.S. 42 (2024)
• United States v. Miller · 604 U.S. 518 (2025)
• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo · 603 U.S. 369 (2024)
• Levin v. United States · 568 U.S. 503 (2013)
• George v. McDonough · 596 U.S. 740 (2022)
• United States v. Washington · 596 U.S. 832 (2022)
• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for P. R. v. Centro De Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. · 598 U.S. 339 (2023)
• Polselli v. IRS · 598 U.S. 432 (2023)
• Soto v. United States · 605 U.S. 360 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2012). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).