Braun v. U.S. Postal Serv.

317 F. Supp. 3d 540
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJune 30, 2018
DocketCiv. Action No. 16–2079 (EGS)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 317 F. Supp. 3d 540 (Braun v. U.S. Postal Serv.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braun v. U.S. Postal Serv., 317 F. Supp. 3d 540 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

Emmet G. Sullivan, United States District Judge

Plaintiff David Steven Braun requested information from the United States Postal Service ("USPS") under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 ("FOIA"), and Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a. USPS conducted what it considers to be a reasonable search in response to those requests and released the records that were not otherwise exempt from disclosure. USPS now moves for summary judgment, arguing that it has discharged its FOIA responsibilities. Mr. Braun also moves for summary judgment, requesting that the Court award him damages in the amount of $3 million dollars a year for the remainder of his life.

Upon consideration of the parties' cross motions, the oppositions and replies thereto, the applicable law, and the entire record, the Court GRANTS USPS's motion for summary judgement and DENIES Mr. Braun's motion for summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

Mr. Braun, appearing pro se , filed his complaint against USPS and the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") on October 17, 2016. See Compl., ECF No. 1 at 1.1 Mr. Braun alleges that he made at least three requests for records under the Privacy Act or FOIA to two different components of USPS: the USPS Office of Inspector General ("OIG") and the United States Postal Inspection Service ("USPIS"). See id. at 13-58.2 The relief sought by Mr. Braun is not wholly clear. Under a section titled "Requested Goal off this suite," Mr. Braun requests "that all records denied in this and previous request's be reviewed and processed for criminal/negligent behavior." See id. at 12.3 He further states that "[t]heir seams to be this database, record issues, that might also need a court *546order from a Federal Judge." Id. Finally, he requests monetary damages "to compensate [him] for the negligence and malicious behavior and damaged caused buy the issues brought to light in this suite." Id.

On January 30, 2017, OMB moved to dismiss all of Mr. Braun's claims, and USPS moved to dismiss everything except Mr. Braun's Privacy Act claims. See OMB Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 22; USPS Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 23. The Court granted both defendants' motions, finding that Mr. Braun had failed to plausibly state a claim that entitled him to relief. See Braun v. United States Postal Service , 2017 WL 4325645 (D.D.C. Sept. 27, 2017). Accordingly, the only claims remaining are Mr. Braun's claims under the Privacy Act against USPS.

On December 8, 2017, USPS filed its motion for summary judgment as to these remaining claims. See USPS Summ. J. Mot., ECF No. 52. USPS also submitted a statement of facts ("SMF") in support of that motion. See id. , ECF No. 52 at 5-15. On January 15, 2018, Mr. Braun filed his opposition and cross-motion for summary judgment. See Braun Opp. to Mot. ("Braun Opp."), ECF No. 53. Mr. Braun did not provide a response to USPS's statement of material facts. The parties completed briefing their motions on February 9, 2018, and the motions are ripe for resolution.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is granted when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 ; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Likewise, in ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment, the court shall grant summary judgment only if one of the moving parties is entitled to judgment as a matter of law upon material facts that are not genuinely disputed. See Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. U.S. Dep't of Justice , 658 F.Supp.2d 217, 224 (D.D.C. 2009) (citation omitted). In determining whether a genuine issue of fact exists, the court must view all facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

When considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must conduct a de novo review of the record. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). In a suit seeking agency documents-whether under the Privacy Act or FOIA-"the court may rely on a reasonably detailed affidavit, setting forth the search terms and the type of search performed, and averring that all files likely to contain responsive materials (if such records exist) were searched" in granting summary judgment. Chambers v. U.S. Dep't. of Interior , 568 F.3d 998, 1003 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (citation and quotation marks omitted).

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317 F. Supp. 3d 540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braun-v-us-postal-serv-cadc-2018.