- Court: United States Supreme Court
- Area(s) of Law: Remedies
- Date Filed: December 10, 2020
- Case #: 19-71
- Judge(s)/Court Below: THOMAS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which all other Members joined, except BARRETT, J., who took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
- Full Text Opinion
Respondents were practicing Muslims who claimed that FBI agents placed them on a No Fly List as retaliation for refusing to be their informants against their religious community. Respondents sued various agents in their official capacities to seek removal from the No Fly List, and also sued the agents in their individual capacities for money damages. A year after the Respondents suit, the Department of Homeland Security removed the Respondents from the No Fly List, which mooted their claims for injunctive relief. The District Court dismissed the claim for money damages through the individual capacities on the basis that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) doesn’t permit monetary relief. The Second Circuit reversed. The Court held that the RFRA’s express remedies provision allows litigants to receive money damages from federal officials as individuals. The Court stated that court below correctly determined that in suits against government officials, damages are an appropriate form of relief. AFFIRMED.