Jodi C. Hohman, et al. v. United States, et al.

The questions presented are i) whether at least some types of limited liability companies may be considered a “person” and thus a “customer” under the Right to Financial Privacy Act for purposes of allowing such companies to sue the United States, and ii) whether the scope of jurisdictional discovery should be broadened when, absent such discovery, the doors to federal court are left closed and viable claims are left unaddressed. The Federal Right to Financial Privacy Act (“RFPA” or “Act”), 12 U.S.C. § 3401, et seq. was enacted in 1978 as part of the Financial Institutions Regulatory and Interest Rate Control Act. The RFPA limits the ability of the federal government to obtain information kept in the financial records of banks. Congress enacted the RFPA in the wake of United States v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435, 442 (1976), which held that no “legitimate expectation of privacy” exists in “the information kept in bank records”, and thus such records are beyond the protections of the Fourth Amendment. The RFPA provides for a private cause of action when the restrictions set forth therein are not followed, thereby waiving the United States’ sovereign immunity. The private cause of action provided to a “customer” of financial institutions whose financial records are improperly obtained or disclosed by the government is set forth in § 3417. This provision allows plaintiffs to recover damages, including “punitive damages as the court may allow, where the violation is found to have