Clay v. United States Department of Justice

680 F. Supp. 2d 239, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7479
District Court, District of Columbia·Decided January 29, 2010·No. Civil Action 09-0179 (RBW)·Published·Cited by 29 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

REGGIE B. WALTON, District Judge.

In this action brought under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552 (2008), the plaintiff challenges the responses of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (“EOU-SA”) to his requests for records “to wit: Receipts for Cash used in the purchase of drugs on March 11, 2002.” Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief to Effect Release of Records (“Compl.”) [Dkt. No. 1] at 1. The defendants move for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon consideration of the parties’ submissions and the entire record, the Court will grant the defendants’ motion and enter judgment in their favor accordingly.

I. BACKGROUND

1. The EOUSA Records Request

By letter dated June 21, 2004, the plaintiff requested from the EOUSA “the voucher on the amount of money paid” to a confidential informant, phone records of calls between him and his attorney that were “made and recorded” from the Atlanta Pretrial Detention Center from “the 10th through the 28th” of February, and “the grand jury minutes or transcripts.” Declaration of John F. Boseker (“Boseker Decl.”) [Dkt. No. 18-4], Exhibit (“Ex.”) A. The plaintiff narrowed his request by letter on January 15, 2005, to (1) “[r]eceipt(s) *243 ... verifying the amount of money that was issued from the cashier to the confidential informant” to purchase drugs from the plaintiff on March 11, 2002, (2) “Receipt(s) of ... money returned that was not used in [the] transaction ... [and] (3) receipt(s) of the government’s funds used to pay the Cl for services furnished during the investigation and conviction of [the plaintiff].” Id., Ex. I.

By letter dated February 9, 2005, the EOUSA informed the plaintiff that a search conducted in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia (“USAO/NDGA”) located no responsive records. Id., Ex. J. It suggested that the plaintiff make a request to the DEA and informed the plaintiff of his right to appeal that determination to the Department of Justice’s Office of Information and Privacy (“OIP”). Id. In response to the plaintiffs appeal submitted February 22, 2005, id., Ex. K, the OIP affirmed the EOUSA’s no-records response by letter on May 9, 2005, id., Ex. M.

2. The DEA Records Request

By letter dated October 23, 2004, the plaintiff requested from the DEA “Receipts of money paid to a confidential informant, Voucher’s Drug Buy/Michelle Hardy, 3/11/2002. CASHIER: Spring Williams, DEA” and “copies of the contents of the file complied [sic] by the DEA during the investigation and prosecution of the cited [criminal] case.” Declaration of William C. Little, Jr. (“Little Decl.”) [Dkt. No. 18-5], Ex. A. By letter on November 16, 2004, the DEA neither confirmed nor denied the existence of such records and advised the plaintiff of his right to appeal to the OIP. Id., Ex. C. By letter dated February 16, 2005, the plaintiff requested substantially the same records, id., Ex. D, to which the DEA responded by letter on April 25, 2005, id., Ex. G, advising the plaintiff that it was denying his request and withholding three pages of information under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), and FOIA exemptions (b)(2), (b)(7)(C) and (b)(7)(F), id., Ex. G at 2. On appeal, the OIP affirmed the DEA’s withholding but under FOIA exemptions (b)(2), (b)(7)(C), (b)(7)(D), (b)(7)(E) and (b)(7)(F). Id., Ex. J. 1

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Under Rule 56(c)(2), summary judgment is appropriate if “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” When ruling on a Rule 56 motion, the Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Holcomb v. Powell, 433 F.3d 889, 895 (D.C.Cir.2006) (citing Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000)). The Court must therefore draw “all justifiable inferences” in the non-moving party’s favor and accept the non-moving party’s evidence as true. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The non-moving party, however, cannot rely on “mere allegations or denials,” Burke v. Gould, 286 F.3d 513, 517 (D.C.Cir.2002) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505) (internal quotation marks omit *244 ted), for “conclusory allegations unsupported by factual data will not create a triable issue of fact,” Pub. Citizen Health Research Group v. FDA 185 F.3d 898, 908 (D.C.Cir.1999) (internal brackets and quotation marks omitted). If the Court concludes that “the nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of [his] case with respect to which [he] has the burden of proof,” then the moving party is entitled to summary judgment. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The FOIA requires a federal agency to release all records responsive to a request for production. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A). The Court is authorized under the FOIA “to enjoin [a federal] agency from withholding agency records or to order the production of any agency records improperly withheld from the complainant.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B); see Kissinger v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 445 U.S. 136, 139, 100 S.Ct. 960, 63 L.Ed.2d 267 (1980). When a FOIA requester files a civil action, the agency has the burden of proving that “each document that falls within the class requested either has been produced, is unidentifiable, or is wholly exempt from the Act’s inspection requirements.” Goland v. CIA 607 F.2d 339

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Clay v. United States Department of Justice, 680 F. Supp. 2d 239, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7479 (D.D.C. 2010).

680 F. Supp. 2d 239 (Clay v. United States Department of Justice) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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