Ryan B. SKUROW, Plaintiff, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY and U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Defendants.
Civil Action No. 11-1296(EGS)
United States District Court, District of Columbia.
Sept. 26, 2012.
892 F. Supp. 2d 319
EMMET G. SULLIVAN, District Judge.
Columbia proceeding has an opportunity to raise constitutional claims as defenses). No extraordinary circumstances exist to warrant the equitable relief sought by Plaintiff, especially since child support orders in the District of Columbia are “routinely and properly enforced by wage withholding.” (Compl., Ex. 17 at p. 2.). Thus, to the extent the complaint seeks to have this Court intervene in matters before the District of Columbia Superior Court or District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the complaint will be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Farmer-Celey v. Appeals Court of D.C. Judges, No. 09-0429, 2009 WL 581476, at *1 (D.D.C. Mar. 5, 2009) (declining to intervene in matters proceeding before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals).
Alternatively, to the extent the complaint alleged constitutional violations against the CSSD, the suit must also be dismissed because the CSSD is non sui juris and therefore not a proper party. Plaintiff argues that the District of Columbia Child Support Services is a proper party because it “is capable of answering lawfully for its own action.” (Pl.‘s Resp. at p. 3.) However, it is well-settled that a department or agency of the District of Columbia cannot sue or be sued in its own name in the absence of a statutory provision to that effect. See, e.g., Kundrat v. District of Columbia, 106 F.Supp.2d 1, 5 (D.D.C.2000).
Finally, insofar as Plaintiff‘s complaint also indicates dissatisfaction with the rulings of the Superior Court or Court of Appeals, any lawsuit against the judges in their judicial capacity would also be barred by the judicial immunity doctrine. See Clark v. Taylor, 627 F.2d 284, 286 (D.C.Cir.1980). The proper avenue for Plaintiff to appeal the decisions of Defendant governmental agency is before the courts of the District of Columbia, as provided in the
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff‘s complaint will be dismissed in its entirety. A separate order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
SO ORDERED.
Alan R. Burch, U.S. Attorney‘s Office, Washington, DC, for Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
EMMET G. SULLIVAN, District Judge.
This case is before the Court on defendants’ motion for summary judgment and plaintiff‘s cross-motion for summary judgment. Upon consideration of the motions, the responses and replies thereto, the applicable law, and the entire record, defendants’ motion is GRANTED and plaintiff‘s cross-motion is DENIED.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff, who initially proceeded pro se in this action, filed his complaint on July 19, 2011, seeking to compel defendants the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS“) and the United States Transportation Security Administration (“TSA“) to comply with the Freedom of Information Act,
Plaintiff is a United States citizen currently living in Israel. In 1998, plaintiff traveled to Israel as a tourist and made an excursion trip with two friends to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. During the course of the trip to Egypt, plaintiff and his friends were stopped by Egyptian police and were searched. As a result of the search, the Egyptian police claimed to have found a small amount of marijuana in the bag of one of plaintiff‘s friends. Plaintiff states that all three friends were tried without the assistance of counsel, fined $200, and were returned to Israel. Plaintiff further alleges that the “entire trial was a farce” and that “plaintiff never used or possessed marijuana as charged by the Egyptian police.” Pl.‘s Statement of Material Facts in Supp. of Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. (“Pl.‘s Cross-Mot. SOF“), ECF No. 16-2, ¶¶ 8-9.
Prior to 2007, plaintiff states he had no difficulty traveling between the United States and Israel. In 2007, however, plaintiff was stopped by a United States Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP“) officer in the Miami International Airport and detained for several hours without explanation. He was stopped again in 2009 while traveling through the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. During this stop, plaintiff inquired about the reasons for his detention. Plaintiff alleges that a CBP officer told him that his name appeared on a “watch list” as a result of the 1998 incident in Egypt.
Between 2008 and 2010, plaintiff made several attempts to clarify the reasons he was stopped and questioned. These included contacting Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, the Representative for the district in which plaintiff‘s father lives. Plaintiff and/or his attorney also made inquiries to the DHS Traveler Inquiry Program (“DHS TRIP“). On August 8, 2010, plaintiff‘s counsel sent a FOIA/Privacy Act request to the TSA for “all information [it had] relating to” plaintiff. Compl. ¶ 5.1
On January 13, 2011, after having allegedly not received a response from the TSA, plaintiff‘s counsel sent a letter to the DHS, reiterating plaintiff‘s initial request and purporting to appeal the denial of his FOIA/Privacy Act request. Compl. ¶ 8. On April 8, 2011, DHS sent a letter to plaintiff‘s counsel informing him that it could not act until a determination was made on whether any responsive records may be released in connection with his request. Compl. ¶ 10. DHS advised plaintiff that he could treat the letter as a denial of his appeal and seek judicial review. Id.
After plaintiff filed this action on July 19, 2011, TSA began responding to plaintiff‘s FOIA request on a rolling basis. On August 4, 2011,2 TSA sent a letter to plaintiff and attached several documents, including documents that had been redacted pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 3, 6, and 7.3 On August 25, 2011, TSA sent plaintiff a supplemental response to his request. See Declaration of Yvonne L. Coates (“Coates Decl.“), ECF No. 9-1, Ex. F. In that letter, the TSA stated that it could neither confirm nor deny whether plaintiff was on a Federal Watch List. Specifically, the TSA stated that pursuant
On November 2, 2011, defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that they had conducted an adequate search and produced documents in response to plaintiff‘s request, and that there were no issues of material fact. Defendants advised the pro se plaintiff of his obligation to respond to the arguments made by plaintiff and cite to supporting factual evidence or those arguments would be deemed conceded. In their motion, defendants argued that their search was adequate, that information was properly withheld pursuant to FOIA exemptions 3 and 6, and that all reasonably segregable information was released.
In his opposition, plaintiff principally argues that the government acted in bad faith. Plaintiff also argues that defendants’ searches were inadequate and that the exemptions do not apply. Plaintiff does not address the issue of segregability. Plaintiff submitted a statement of facts in dispute, see ECF No. 10-3, but did not specifically respond to the factual allegations in defendants’ statement or cite to
Several weeks after plaintiff filed his pro se opposition to defendant‘s motion for summary judgment on January 26, 2012, counsel appeared on behalf of plaintiff in this action. See ECF No. 14. On June 26, 2012, three months after the initial motion for summary judgment was fully briefed, plaintiff filed a cross-motion for summary judgment and a request for attorneys’ fees. On July 11, 2012, the Court held a status hearing regarding the pending motions. At the hearing, the Court noted that a Fox/Neal Order had not been issued after the initial summary judgment motion was filed by defendants. The Court informed plaintiff‘s counsel that it appeared plaintiff had not properly responded to the motion, including to the statement of facts, and asked counsel whether he was satisfied with the opposition that plaintiff had filed. Counsel stated that he was satisfied with the pleadings and had no intention to make any changes. Counsel also confirmed that he had access to the Court‘s local rules. Accordingly, the Court allowed the briefing on the cross-motion for summary judgment to proceed. That motion, and defendants’ initial motion, are now ripe for the Court‘s decision.
II. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
A. Rule 56
Pursuant to
B. FOIA
FOIA requires agencies to disclose all requested agency records,
“FOIA‘s strong presumption in favor of disclosure places the burden on the agency to justify the withholding of any requested documents.” Dep‘t of State v. Ray, 502 U.S. 164, 173 (1991) (citation omitted). The government may satisfy its burden of establishing its right to withhold information from the public by submitting appropriate declarations and, where necessary, an index of the information withheld. See Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820, 827-28 (D.C.Cir.1973). “If an agency‘s affidavit describes the justifications for withholding the information with specific detail, demonstrates that the information withheld logically falls within the claimed exemption, and is not contradicted by contrary evidence in the record or by evidence of the agency‘s bad faith, then summary judgment is warranted on the basis of the affidavit alone.” ACLU v. Dep‘t of the Defense, 628 F.3d 612, 619 (D.C.Cir.2011); see id. (an agency‘s justification for invoking a FOIA exemption is sufficient if it appears logical or plausible) (internal citations omitted).
C. Privacy Act
The Privacy Act of 1974 regulates the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of an individual‘s personal information by agencies within the federal government. See
As an initial matter, the Court notes that this case is in a somewhat unusual procedural posture. As discussed above, plaintiff proceeded pro se through the majority of this litigation, including the initial summary judgment briefing. His counsel, who appeared in the litigation shortly after plaintiff filed his pro se opposition to defendants’ motion for summary judgment, has adopted the arguments made by plaintiff in his opposition to defendants’ motion for summary judgment and did not wish to supplement that briefing. Plaintiff subsequently filed a cross-motion for summary judgment.
Plaintiff‘s response to defendants’ statement of material facts not in dispute fails to specifically controvert defendants’ statements of material fact because it fails to cite to record evidence. Although the Court is “under no obligation to sift through the record” to locate disputed issues of material fact, the Court has reviewed the pleadings as a whole in an effort to determine whether there are any disputed issues of material fact. Upon review of plaintiff‘s opposition to defendants’ statement of material facts, and plaintiff‘s own statement of material facts in support of his cross-motion for summary judgment, the Court finds that there are no disputed issues of material fact in this case. Much of what has been alleged by plaintiff is merely background information that is not in dispute. For example, plaintiff states that “[i]n or around November 2011, Defendants submitted affidavits from Yvonne Coates and William Benner in an attempt to justify withholding of information requested by plaintiff about himself.” See Pl.‘s Statement of Genuine Issues in Dispute (“Pl.‘s SOF“), ECF No. 10-3, ¶ 23. This statement is neither in dispute, nor is it material. The few disputed allegations made by plaintiff relate to legal issues, rather than to issues of fact. See, e.g., id. ¶ 25 (alleging that defendants “improperly maintain[ed] a right to withhold under Exemptions 3 and 6 and a Glomar response based on Exemption 3“).
Accordingly, as discussed below, the issues to be resolved by the Court are legal and relate to the propriety of defendants’ responses to plaintiff‘s FOIA request.
A. Adequacy of Search
Defendants argue that their search for documents was adequate and that summary judgment is appropriate. Plaintiff disagrees, contending that defendants failed to conduct a reasonable and good faith search for responsive documents. As discussed below, in view of the lack of any specific showing of bad faith on the part of the defendants, the Court finds that their search was adequate.
1. Bad Faith
Plaintiff makes several arguments relating to defendants’ delay in processing his FOIA request. Specifically, plaintiff argues that the delay is evidence of defendants’ bad faith. Plaintiff further argues that defendants’ claimed exemptions are invalid because of this alleged bad faith. See Pl.‘s Opp. to Defs.’ Mot. for Summ. J. (“Pl.‘s Opp.“), ECF No. 10, at 14. The Court disagrees.
Courts routinely find that delays in responding to FOIA requests are not, in and of themselves, indicative of agency bad faith. See, e.g., Iturralde v. Comptroller of the Currency, 315 F.3d 311, 315 (D.C.Cir.2003) (“initial delays in responding to a FOIA request are rarely, if ever, grounds for discrediting later affidavits by the agency“); Fischer v. U.S. Dep‘t of Justice, 723 F.Supp.2d 104, 108-09 (D.D.C.2010) (rejecting argument that agency‘s failure to produce documents until after litigation commenced evidenced agency‘s bad faith). Agency affidavits are afforded a “presump- tion
2. TSA‘s Searches Were Adequate
An agency from which information has been requested must undertake a search that is “reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents.” Weisberg v. Dep‘t of Justice, 705 F.2d 1344, 1351 (D.C.Cir.1983). “[T]he adequacy of a FOIA search is generally determined not by the fruits of the search, but by the appropriateness of the methods used to carry out the search.” Iturralde, 315 F.3d at 315. The Court applies a “reasonableness test to determine the adequacy of search methodology,” Campbell v. Dep‘t of Justice, 164 F.3d 20, 27 (D.C.Cir.1998), and requires a “reasonable and systematic approach to locating the requested documents.” Ctr. for Pub. Integrity v. FCC, 505 F.Supp.2d 106, 116 (D.D.C.2007). “The agency must demonstrate that it ‘made a good faith effort to conduct a search for the requested records, using methods which can be reasonably expected to produce the information requested.‘” Fischer v. Dep‘t of Justice, 596 F.Supp.2d 34, 42 (D.D.C.2009) (quoting Oglesby v. Dep‘t of the Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C.Cir.1990)).
Defendants properly rely on a detailed, non-conclusory declaration that demonstrates the adequacy of the search. See Weisberg, 705 F.2d at 1351. TSA states that, based on plaintiff‘s request and his allegation of experiencing difficulties traveling, it identified that the TSA offices most likely to have responsive records were the Office of Transportation Security Redress (“OTSR“), the Office of Intelligence (“OI“) and the Office of Security Operations (“OSO“). Coates Decl. ¶ 17. It explains in considerable detail the processes undertaken to search for documents in those offices.4 It further explains the
Plaintiff attempts to establish that the searches were inadequate by identifying individual documents that are allegedly responsive to his requests but which were not produced. The documents include: 1) correspondence between CBP and Congresswoman Jean Schmidt‘s office regarding plaintiff‘s difficulty traveling; 2) an October 2009 letter from plaintiff‘s counsel to DHS regarding plaintiff‘s difficulty traveling; and 3) correspondence between plaintiff‘s counsel and TSA or DHS regarding plaintiff‘s FOIA request. Plaintiff also claims that defendants’ search was inadequate because it did not search records from CBP or the FBI.
The Court notes at the outset that plaintiff‘s FOIA request was directed to the TSA only. Compl. Ex. A. The relevant FOIA regulation puts the burden on a requesting party to direct his request to the DHS component from which records are sought. Defs.’ Reply in Support of Mot. for Summ. J. (“Defs.’ Reply“), ECF No. 15, at 3 (citing
Plaintiff‘s allegations regarding various correspondence that was not produced in response to his FOIA request falls short of establishing that TSA‘s search was inadequate. First, plaintiff points to several letters from plaintiff‘s counsel. Plaintiff claims that an October 21, 2009 letter from plaintiff‘s counsel inquiring about the status of plaintiff‘s FOIA request was not produced. As explained by the TSA, however, a nearly-identical letter dated November 22, 2009 was produced and a similar electronic version of the letter was located in TSA‘s files upon further review. March 7, 2012 Declaration of Yvonne Coates (“March 7 Coates Decl.“), ECF No. 15, at ¶¶ 8-9. The difference in date appears to have been a clerical error and, even if not, is not a material issue with respect to the adequacy of the search. See Iturralde, 315 F.3d at 315.
Plaintiff also argues that TSA‘s search was inadequate because TSA did not pro-
duce
Plaintiff also cites to several letters sent to the offices of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, who is the representative for the Congressional district in which plaintiff‘s father resides. These letters include an October 16, 2008 letter from a CBP official to Representative Schmidt, see ECF No. 10-2, Ex. A, and an August 16, 2010 letter from a CBP official to Representative Schmidt, see id. Ex. D. Plaintiff cites these letters as further proof that the searches were inadequate. Plaintiff fails to acknowledge, however, that the letters were sent from CBP, rather than TSA. Because plaintiff‘s FOIA request was made to TSA, the Court finds that these letters are not evidence of an inadequate search.
In view of the fact that the reasonableness of a FOIA search is determined, “not by the fruits of the search, but by the appropriateness of the methods used to carry out the search,” Iturralde, 315 F.3d at 315, the Court finds that defendants’ searches for documents responsive to plaintiff‘s FOIA request were adequate.
B. Exemptions
1. Exemption 3
Exemption 3 allows an agency to withhold or redact information prohibited from disclosure by another statute if the statute “establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld.”
Plaintiff does not challenge whether Section 114(r) qualifies as an Exemption 3 withholding statute.7 Rather, plaintiff argues that Section 114(r) does not apply to his case because 1) defendants did not make a decision as to whether it would prevent release of certain documents until after plaintiff‘s litigation was filed; 2) that even if Section 114(r) prevents release of certain information pursuant to FOIA, it
The Court disagrees. Plaintiff‘s claim that defendants have waived their right to withhold information pursuant to Exemption 3 because they may or may not have designated the information as SSI until after receiving his FOIA request, or indeed, even after this litigation was filed, fails. Plaintiff cites to no law that would require defendants to designate certain information as SSI prior to a FOIA request or risk waiving their ability to withhold such information.
The Court also rejects plaintiff‘s argument that the information should be released because plaintiff has requested the information under the Privacy Act, in addition to FOIA. Plaintiff‘s argument ignores the provision in the TSA‘s SSI regulation that specifically addresses this issue. See Defs.’ Reply at 7 (quoting
Plaintiff‘s fourth argument also fails. Plaintiff alleges that information regarding plaintiff‘s presence on a watch list should be produced because a CBP official told him that he was on a watch list when he was stopped at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2009. In this respect, plaintiff appears to allege that the waiver doctrine applies. The D.C. Circuit has held that “when information has been ‘officially acknowledged,’ its disclosure may be compelled even over an agency‘s otherwise valid exemption claim.” Fitzgibbon v. CIA, 911 F.2d 755, 765 (D.C.Cir.1990). In Fitzgibbon, the court identified three requirements to determine whether the government has waived its right to withhold information by officially acknowledging it. Specifically, plaintiff must establish that the information requested is as specific as the information previously released, must match the information previously disclosed, and must have already been made public through an official and documented disclosure. Id. Plaintiff does not attempt to argue that the comment by the CBP official, even if true, was an “official and documented disclosure.” Furthermore, plaintiff‘s citation to Wolf v. CIA, 473 F.3d 370 (D.C.Cir.2007) does not support his argument because that case involved an official admission of the existence of specific records by a CIA official during a public Congressional hearing. In contrast, in this case, the alleged disclosure was made by an unnamed CBP employee while plaintiff was stopped at an airport. There is nothing official about it, nor was it documented. Accordingly, plaintiff‘s waiver claim fails.
a. Scope of the Court‘s Review
Moving on to the Court‘s review of the information withheld under Exemption 3, defendants argue that this Court lacks jurisdiction to review TSA‘s designation of the withheld information as SSI. Under
The Court agrees that it lacks jurisdiction to review the substance of the TSA‘s SSI designations. See In re September 11 Litigation, 236 F.R.D. 164, 175 (S.D.N.Y.2006); Shqeirat v. U.S. Airways Group, Inc., No. 07-1513 (ADM/AJB), 2008 WL 4232018, *2 (D.Minn. Sept. 9, 2008) (“To the extent that these requests seek Sensitive Security Information (“SSI“) and plaintiffs object to U.S. Airways’ production of documents after review by the TSA, the Court directs plaintiffs to the Court of Appeals, which have ‘exclusive jurisdiction to affirm, amend, modify or set aside’ final orders issued by the TSA pursuant to
Although the Court has found that it lacks jurisdiction to review the TSA‘s decision to designate certain material as SSI, the Court must still determine whether the material withheld, as described by TSA, fits within the scope of Section 114(r). See Morley v. CIA, 508 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C.Cir.2007) (quoting Ass‘n of Ret. R.R. Workers v. U.S. R.R. Ret. Bd., 830 F.2d 331, 336 (D.C.Cir.1987) (“[T]he sole issue for decision is the existence of a relevant statute and the inclusion of the withheld material within the statute‘s coverage.‘“)); James Madison Project v. CIA, 607 F.Supp.2d 109, 126 (D.D.C.2009).
b. Documents Redacted Pursuant to Exemption 3
TSA redacted several documents pursuant to Exemption 3 and
Benner Decl. ¶ 10. The Court finds that this information, as described, fits squarely within the scope of Section 114(r) and that the information redacted by TSA was appropriately withheld.
c. Glomar Response Pursuant to Exemption 3
In the TSA‘s August 25, 2011 supplemental response to plaintiff‘s FOIA request, the TSA stated that it could neither confirm nor deny whether plaintiff‘s name was on a Federal Watch List. Specifically, the TSA stated that pursuant
Plaintiff challenges the justification for the TSA‘s Glomar response as set forth in the declaration of William Benner. Plaintiff asserts that “[w]hen Benner states that it would be endangering national security to reveal to me whether my name is on the list, he is either entering the realm of the Kafkesque [sic] or he has exceeded his authority under Section 114(r).” Pl.‘s Opp. at 20.
The D.C. Circuit has recognized that an agency “may refuse to confirm or deny the existence or records where to answer the FOIA inquiry would cause harm cognizable under a FOIA exemption.” Gardels v. CIA, 689 F.2d 1100, 1103 (D.C.Cir.1982). Here, the TSA argues that FOIA exemption 3, which applies to matters specifically exempted by statute, applies to TSA‘s Glomar response based on
The Court finds that the TSA‘s Glomar response to plaintiff‘s FOIA request was entirely proper and squarely within the realm of its authority. See Tooley v. Bush, No. 06-306(CKK), 2006 WL 3783142, at *20 (finding that Glomar response to request regarding a person‘s presence on TSA watch lists was entirely proper under Section 114(r) where the TSA explained that if the TSA “were to confirm in one case that a particular individual was not on a watch list, but was constrained in another case merely to refuse to confirm or deny whether a second individual was on a watch list, the accumulation of these answers over time would tend to reveal SSI.“); see also Gordon v. FBI, 388 F.Supp.2d 1028, 1037 (N.D.Cal.2005) (“Requiring the government to reveal whether a particular person is on the watch lists would enable criminal organizations to circumvent the purpose of the watch lists by determining in advance which of their members may be questioned.“). Accordingly, the Court finds that defendants have established that TSA properly responded to plaintiff‘s request for information about whether his name appeared on a watch list by refusing to confirm or deny that information pursuant to FOIA Exemption 3.
2. Exemption 6
Exemption 6 covers “personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
The information redacted by the TSA pursuant to Exemption 6 includes the “names, initials, position titles, and/or the last four digits of the telephone number of federal employees who are involved in the DHS TRIP process.” Coates Decl. ¶ 37. TSA determined that the public‘s interest in the names or other personal information of the federal employees involved in the DHS TRIP process was outweighed by the federal employees’ privacy interest in that information. Id. ¶ 38. TSA determined that the information would provide very little insight into the manner in which the TSA performs its statutory duties. TSA also considered the likelihood that disclosure would result in harassment and annoyance of TSA employees in light of their involvement in traveler redress activities.
In his opposition, plaintiff appears to mostly concede the Exemption 6 issue. He states that he has “no qualms with the legal principles applicable to Exemption 6 claims” and then cites several cases relied upon by defendants. Pl.‘s Opp. at 22. Plaintiff then says that he is “willing to stipulate that the identities of any third party federal workers be redacted from the documents to be disclosed” to him. Id. at 23.
Upon the Court‘s review of the redacted documents, the majority very clearly indicate that they bear only minor redactions to the names and other personal identifying information, such as phone numbers, of federal employees who wrote and/or received emails about plaintiff‘s case. The Court finds that these redactions were properly made pursuant to Exemption 6 and, in addition, that plaintiff has conceded that defendants may redact personal information about federal employees.
A limited number of redactions made by defendants, indicated as R. 6, R. 7, and R. 10, do not clearly indicate that they are redacting personal information about federal employees. Because the Court has determined that these redactions were properly made pursuant to Exemption 3, see supra, the Court need not determine whether they were also properly redacted pursuant to Exemption 6.
C. Segregability
Plaintiff does not dispute that all reasonably segregable information was produced to him. Even after determination that documents are exempt from disclosure, however, FOIA analysis is not properly concluded unless a court determines whether “any reasonably segregable portion of a record” can “be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt.”
“It has long been the rule in this Circuit that non-exempt portions of a document must be disclosed unless they are inextricably intertwined with exempt portions.” Mead Data Cent., Inc. v. Dep‘t of Air Force, 566 F.2d 242, 260 (D.C.Cir.1977). The agency should, for example, “‘describe what proportion of the information in [the] documents,’ if any, ‘is non-exempt and how that material is dispersed through the document[s].‘” Elec. Frontier Found., 826 F.Supp.2d at 174 (quoting Mead Data Cent., Inc., 566 F.2d at 261); see King v. Dep‘t of Justice, 830 F.2d 210, 219 (D.C.Cir.1987) (agency must sufficiently identify the withheld material to enable the district court to make a rational decision whether the withheld material must be produced without actually viewing the documents).
Upon review of the documents, the Court finds that defendants have made very limited, specific redactions and have explained in detail the basis for those redactions. See Coates Decl. ¶¶ 30-40. It appears that defendants have redacted only what was necessary to protect the exempt information, and defendants are not withholding any documents in full. Accordingly, the Court finds that all segregable information has been disclosed to plaintiff.
D. Attorneys’ Fees
In his cross-motion for summary judgment, plaintiff argues that he is entitled to attorneys’ fees pursuant to
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS defendants’ motion for summary judgment and DENIES plaintiff‘s cross-motion for summary judgment. An appropriate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
EMMET G. SULLIVAN
United States District Judge
HARD DRIVE PRODUCTIONS, INC., Plaintiffs, v. DOES 1–1,495, Defendants.
Civil Action No. 11–1741 (JDB/JMF)
United States District Court, District of Columbia.
Sept. 26, 2012.