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Keywords

lawsuitplaintiffdamagesappealmotionsovereign immunity
lawsuitplaintiffdefendantlitigationmotionsummary judgmentmotion for summary judgment

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Jewel v. National Security Agency, 965 F.Supp.2d 1090

Facts

The plaintiffs, representing a class of residential telephone customers, alleged that the federal government engaged in widespread warrantless surveillance following the September 11 attacks, violating their constitutional rights. The Jewel Plaintiffs filed their complaint in 2008, claiming that the government, with the help of telecommunications companies, unlawfully intercepted communications and obtained records of millions of Americans. The case was initially dismissed by the District Court, which found that the plaintiffs lacked standing and that the state secrets privilege barred the claims. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed this dismissal, allowing the case to proceed.

These cases are two in a series of many lawsuits arising from claims that the federal government, with the assistance of major telecommunications companies, conducted widespread warrantless dragnet communications surveillance of United States citizens following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Issue

The main legal issues included whether the state secrets privilege applied to the subject matter of the lawsuits and whether the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) preempted the state secrets privilege.

The District Court, Jeffrey S. White, J., held that: 1 state secrets privilege did not protect the very subject matter of the suits, so as to require dismissal; 2 state secrets privilege applied to significant materials relating to alleged program; 3 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) preempts application of state secrets privilege in cases within the reach of its provisions.

Rule

The court ruled that the state secrets privilege does not protect the subject matter of the lawsuits and that FISA preempts the application of the state secrets privilege in cases involving electronic surveillance.

The Court further finds that the parties have not addressed the viability of the Jewel Plaintiffs' constitutional claims under the Fourth and First Amendments and the claim for violation of separation of powers and the Shubert Plaintiffs' fourth cause of action for violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Analysis

The court analyzed the application of the state secrets privilege and determined that, despite the government's claims, the very subject matter of the lawsuits—warrantless surveillance—was not a state secret due to prior public disclosures. Furthermore, the court found that FISA's procedural mechanisms provided a framework for reviewing sensitive materials, thus displacing the state secrets privilege in this context.

The Court shall require that the parties submit further briefing on the course of this litigation going forward.

Conclusion

The court granted the Jewel Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary adjudication, rejecting the state secrets defense, and dismissed the statutory claims for damages under FISA and claims for injunctive relief based on sovereign immunity. The court reserved ruling on the constitutional claims under the Fourth and First Amendments.

Accordingly, the Court RESERVES ruling on Defendants' motion for summary judgment on those remaining, non-statutory claims.

Who won?

The Jewel Plaintiffs prevailed in part, as the court rejected the state secrets defense and allowed their claims to proceed, emphasizing that the state secrets privilege did not apply to the subject matter of the lawsuits.

The Court GRANTS the Jewel Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary adjudication by rejecting the state secrets defense as having been displaced by the statutory procedure prescribed in 50 U.S.C. § 1806(f) of FISA.

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