Opinion ID: 3049370
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: CDC’s Motion for Summary Judgment

Text: On April 28, 2009, Plaintiff Speaker filed his original Complaint. On June 29, 2009, Defendant CDC filed an answer. Immediately after answering, the CDC, on July 2, 2009, filed a motion to stay the proceedings and a motion for summary judgment, arguing that (1) Speaker failed to satisfy the elements of a Privacy Act claim and (2) under Eleventh Circuit precedent, Speaker could not recover nonpecuniary damages under the Privacy Act. The CDC attached a “statement of material facts about which there is no genuine dispute” and various exhibits, including the CDC’s statements at press conferences and the contents of newspaper articles.3 2 Speaker’s Amended Complaint also alleges an “indirect” disclosure of his identity by the CDC in its press conferences. See Am. Compl. ¶ 85 (claiming that disclosures at CDC press events “would have allowed him to be readily identified even if his identity had not been directly disclosed by the CDC”). Such CDC disclosures included “details of Mr. Speaker’s medical history and his alleged medical condition (including the dissemination of a detailed timeline of his medical treatment), the fact that he had flown to Greece to get married, and the fact that he was a lawyer in Atlanta.” Id. This indirect disclosure allegation, however, does not annul the allegations of direct disclosure contained throughout the Amended Complaint. 3 The exhibits were labeled in the CDC’s “Appendix” as follows: “May 29, 2007 CDC Press Briefing Transcript” (Exhibit A); “Young, Alison: ‘Atlantan Quarantined with Deadly TB Strain,’ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 30, 2007” (Exhibit B); “May 30, 2007 CDC Press Briefing Transcript” (Exhibit C); “Slevin, Colleen: ‘TB Patient ID’d as Atlanta Attorney, 31,’ The Associated Press, May 31, 2007” (Exhibit D); “May 31, 2007 Press Release by National 7 In response, Speaker filed motions opposing the stay and summary judgment. He supplied a “statement of material facts” and a “response to defendant’s statement of facts,” along with a Rule 56(f) affidavit requesting discovery. The district court’s ruling referenced the contents of some of the CDC exhibits, so we recount them here. One CDC exhibit was the transcript of the CDC’s first press conference on May 29, 2007. In that press conference, CDC Director Julie Gerberding stated that the tuberculosis patient in question, whom she did not identify by name, (1) departed Atlanta on May 12, traveling to Paris on Air France flight 385 and (2) returned to the United States on May 24, taking Czech Air flight 104 from Prague to Montreal, and crossing the border by car. Dr. Martin Cetron, the CDC’s Jewish Medical and Research Center” (Exhibit E); “June 1, 2007 Good Morning America Transcript” (Exhibit F); “Declaration of William Allstetter Authenticating Press Releases” (Exhibit G); “June 6, 2007 Declaration of Carrie Mitchell and Transcript to Hearing of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations: ‘The Impact of one Tuberculosis Patient on International Public Health’” (Exhibit H); “June 5, 2007 Press Release National Jewish Medical and Research Center” (Exhibit I); “June 6, 2007 CNN Interview with Larry King” (Exhibit J); “June 14, 2007 Press Release by National Jewish Medical and Research Center” (Exhibit K); “July 3, 2007 Press Release by National Jewish Medical and Research Center” (Exhibit L); “July 3, 2007 Joint Press Briefing Transcript between National Jewish Medical and Research Center and the CDC” (Exhibit M); “June 1, 2007 CDC Press Briefing Transcript” (Exhibit N); “‘My Thoughts on the Last Few Weeks,’ Internet posting by Andrew Speaker, July 6, 2007” (Exhibit O); “Signed Authorization of Andrew Speaker” (Exhibit P); “July 11, 2007 Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees Transcript” (Exhibit Q); and “Declaration of Glen Nowak Authenticating Transcripts and Briefings” (Exhibit R). 8 Director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, identified Atlanta as the patient’s home. The CDC also attached as an exhibit an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article that appeared within 24 hours of the CDC’s May 29 press conference. The article revealed that the tuberculosis patient participated in a telephone interview with the newspaper, on condition of anonymity, and reported that he was presently under federal quarantine at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Another CDC exhibit was a transcript of its press conference on May 30, 2007. In this second press conference, the CDC’s Dr. Cetron provided additional information about the patient’s flights, including approximate numerical figures of passengers and crew members potentially affected. Dr. Cetron also listed the patient’s seat number as 12C on the Czech Air flight 104 from Prague to Montreal. The CDC did not identify Speaker by name in the press conference, but did identify both his flight and seat number. The next day, the Associated Press (“AP”) published an article, which the CDC also filed as an exhibit, that identified Speaker by name. The AP’s May 31 article announced that Speaker was a “31-year-old personal injury attorney who practices law with his father in Atlanta.” The AP story stated that Speaker’s identity was provided to the AP by “a federal law enforcement official” and 9 confirmed by a “medical official in Atlanta” who, along with the law enforcement official, spoke on condition of anonymity.4 After Speaker was identified as the tuberculosis patient on May 31, he appeared on television. The CDC included as an exhibit the transcript of a June 1, 2007 “Good Morning America” episode on ABC, in which Diane Sawyer interviewed Speaker. Now that his identity had been revealed, Speaker in this interview revealed details about his tuberculosis diagnosis. The CDC included transcripts of subsequent national media interviews in which Speaker participated, along with the transcript of Speaker’s testimony before Congress on June 6, 2007. The CDC also attached as exhibits transcripts of its June 1, 2007 press conference and media interviews in which the CDC participated on July 3 and July 11, 2007. Throughout these media events, the CDC did not use Speaker’s name, even though his identity had been widely revealed at this point.