Robert Oja v. United States Army Corps of Engineers Robert B. Flowers, Lieutenant General

Petitioner Robert Oja sued the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“the USACE”) and Robert Flowers (collectively “Defendants”) under the Privacy Act of 1974, Pub.L. No. 579, 88 Stat. 1896 (codified as amended at 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)), for disclosing Oja’s personal information by posting it on the USACE’s public Internet website. The District of Oregon granted summary judgment for Defendants. We affirm, holding that the district court properly applied the Privacy Act’s statute of limitations to both of Oja’s amended complaints. In the course of answering Oja’s claims, we hold that the single publication rule applies to Privacy Act claims relating to Internet posting.

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

A. Background

Oja served as Regulatory Chief of the Alaska District of the USACE from 1985 until 1998. During his tenure at the USACE, Oja avers that he “was frequently critical of the USACE, accusing the agency of thwarting his efforts to enforce wetlands violations and bending to pressure from oil companies.” Oja made numerous protective disclosures under the Whistle-blower Protection Act of 1989, Pub.L. No. 101-12, 103 Stat. 16 (codified in scattered sections of 5 U.S.C.), and documented…