A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit on Monday filed by the Trump administration seeking individual applicant records from Harvard, finding the government failed to meet procedural requirements before filing the lawsuit against the university.

Judge Myoung J Joun did not rule on the merits of the case, rather he granted a request from Harvard to dismiss the case on procedural grounds, finding that the justice department failed to demonstrate it took necessary steps to seek voluntary compliance before moving for judicial enforcement.

The justice department filed the lawsuit against Harvard in February 2026, seeking records and claiming Harvard had “thwarted” and “slow-walked” a federal civil rights review by delays and failure to meet deadlines for record requests.

The Trump administration has sought the records to ensure Harvard ceased using affirmative action in admissions.

Last week, Harvard released admissions data showing the enrollment of Black students at Harvard fell for a third straight year, to 9.3% for the class of 2030, down from 18% in the class of 2027.

“A deadline and a threat to sue, standing alone, do not necessarily demonstrate compliance with the regulatory voluntary-compliance process where the agency seeks to enforce disputed demands for extensive information,” Joun wrote in his opinion.

He also found the Department of Education failed to follow proper procedural steps prior to folding its admissions investigation into the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice.

Harvard has maintained it provided more than 2,000 pages of documents without divulging personal individual records, which it states are privileged information. Lawyers for Harvard have argued the Trump administration prematurely abandoned negotiations with the university in favor of a retaliatory campaign against Harvard.

In August 2026, the same federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard, in one of the Trump administration’s many efforts against Harvard that has included freezing federal funds and attempting to revoke Harvard’s ability to accept international students.