Case: Moore v. City and County of San Francisco
3:25-cv-11011 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Filed Date: Dec. 28, 2025
Closed Date: Jan. 28, 2026
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case Summary
This case challenged the constitutionality of the City of San Francisco's automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera system, and the sharing of data collected by the ALPR system with agencies outside of California. On December 28, 2025, an individual plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) alleging Fourth Amendment privacy violations and violations of California Civil Code §1798.90.5. The plaintiff filed a punitive class action for a proposed class of San Francisco residents who hold California drivers licenses and drive in the city. The plaintiff was represented by a private securities litigation firm, and sought declaratory and injunctive relief. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, where it was assigned to District Judge Sallie Kim.
The suit arose from the experience of a private citizen, a retired public servant, who regularly drove in the city. The man was concerned about the city’s widespread use of Flock ALPR cameras, which he alleged constituted a search and purposeful investigative conduct in violation of the 4th Amendment's privacy protections. He alleged that the Flock cameras created a running record of his and other San Francisco driver’s movements, which violated his reasonable expectation of privacy. He further contended that any SFPD officer could access this record at any time, and that SFPD access to and use of Flock’s database could be warrantless and without probable cause. The plaintiff was particularly concerned about reports that San Francisco’s Flock data was used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and out-of-state police officers from Texas and Georgia. He alleged this data sharing violated provisions in the California Civil Code that limit sharing ALPR data with out of state law enforcement. The suit specifically sought a declaration that the city’s use of Flock surveillance technology was unconstitutional; to enjoin the city’s operation of Flock cameras; to order the deletion of all images, records, and other data collected by the cameras; to enjoin SFPD from utilizing the Flock cameras to collect data, or from accessing data, without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause; and for reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs.
An amended complaint was filed on January 19, 2026, which removed a named defendant and slightly modified some of the factual allegations. On January 27, 2026, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the complaint. The defendants did not respond to the suit prior to the voluntary dismissal. The case was terminated on January 28, 2026.
Summary Authors
Elly Beckerman (9/29/2026)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72081920/parties/moore-v-city-and-county-of-san-francisco/
Kim, Sallie (California)
Abadou, Ramzi (California)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72081920/moore-v-city-and-county-of-san-francisco/
Last updated Sept. 29, 2026, 3:42 p.m.
Docket for: Moore v. City and County of San Francisco
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 28, 2025
Closing Date: Jan. 28, 2026
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A retired public servant residing in San Francisco who drives in the city
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Mooted before ruling
Defendants
City
City of San Francisco
San Francisco Police Department
County
County of San Francisco
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Other Dockets:
Northern District of California 3:25-cv-11011
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Relief Sought:
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Case Summary of Moore v. City and County of San Francisco, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/47968/ (last updated 9/29/2026).