Hodes v. U.S. Dep't of Treasury

342 F. Supp. 3d 166
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedSeptember 28, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 17-cv-0219 (DLF)
StatusPublished

This text of 342 F. Supp. 3d 166 (Hodes v. U.S. Dep't of Treasury) 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
Hodes v. U.S. Dep't of Treasury, 342 F. Supp. 3d 166 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

DABNEY L. FRIEDRICH, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Scott A. Hodes seeks information about four contracts the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) awarded to private companies to outsource debt collection for certain IRS tax liabilities. Hodes filed this lawsuit after the IRS refused to disclose the contracts' commission percentage rates in response to his request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Before the Court are four pending motions: (1) the Department of Treasury's Motion to Dismiss the Complaint as Against It, Dkt. 12; (2) the IRS's Motion for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff's FOIA Claim, Dkt. 13; (3) Intervenor Continental Service Group, Inc.'s (ConServe) Motion for Summary Judgment, Dkt. 14; and (4) Hodes's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, Dkt. 16. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the IRS's and ConServe's motions for summary judgment, deny Hodes's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, and deny as moot Treasury's motion to dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 23, 2016, the IRS awarded task order contracts to four debt collection companies under a new program to outsource the collection of certain delinquent *170tax liabilities.1 IRS's Statement of Facts ¶¶ 2, 3, 6, Dkt. 13-2;2 Gregory Decl. ¶¶ 4, 6, 7, Dkt. 13-5. The task order contracts include a base period contract and future options for four additional years. Gregory Decl. ¶ 12. Four days after the awards, Hodes submitted a FOIA request to the IRS requesting the contracts, including the "pricing percentage rates to be paid to the contractors."3 IRS's Statement of Facts ¶¶ 1, 2; Minauro Decl. Ex. A, Dkt. 13-4. The IRS gave Hodes copies of the contracts but invoked FOIA exemption 4 to redact and withhold the pricing percentage rates (or "commission percentages") that the IRS agreed to pay the debt collection companies. IRS's Statement of Facts ¶¶ 4, 5, 7. Exemption 4 protects "matters that are ... trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4).

Hodes filed an administrative appeal of the IRS's decision to redact and withhold the commission percentages. IRS's Statement of Facts ¶¶ 11, 14. After the IRS denied his administrative appeal, Hodes filed this lawsuit on February 1, 2017, naming both the IRS and the United States Department of the Treasury as defendants. See Compl. at 1, Dkt. 1. Hodes does not dispute the adequacy of the IRS's search, but he challenges the IRS's decision to redact and withhold commission percentages under exemption 4. Pl.'s Cross-Mot. at 1, Dkt. 16-2.

On June 16, 2017, the Department of Treasury moved for dismissal under Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Treasury's Mot. to Dismiss at 1, Dkt. 12. Because Hodes never submitted a FOIA request to Treasury, Treasury argues that it cannot provide any relief apart from that available from the IRS, which is a bureau of Treasury. Treasury's Mem. at 1, Dkt. 12-1. Hodes insists that Treasury must remain in the case because it is the "agency," as defined by FOIA, and the IRS is merely its "component." Pl.'s Opp'n to Dismissal at 2, Dkt. 15-1.

The same day that Treasury moved to dismiss, the IRS moved for summary judgment on the ground that FOIA exemption 4 shields commission percentages from disclosure. See IRS's Mot. at 1, Dkt. 13. Intervenor ConServe, one of the four task order contract awardees, subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment supporting the IRS's position. ConServe's Mot. at 1, Dkt. 14. Hodes then filed a competing cross-motion for summary judgment. Pl.'s Cross-Mot. at 1, Dkt. 16.

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure mandates that "[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as *171to any material fact" and, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, "the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; see also Paige v. Drug Enforcement Admin. , 665 F.3d 1355, 1358 (D.C. Cir. 2012). "A dispute is 'genuine' if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Paige , 665 F.3d at 1358 (internal quotation marks omitted). A fact is material if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "[T]hese general standards under rule 56 apply with equal force in the FOIA context." Wash. Post Co. v. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs. , 865 F.2d 320, 325 (D.C. Cir. 1989).

To prevail under Rule 56, a federal agency "must prove that each document that falls within the class requested either has been produced, is unidentifiable, or is wholly exempt from [FOIA's] inspection requirements." Perry v. Block , 684 F.2d 121, 126 (D.C. Cir. 1982) (per curiam) (quoting Nat'l Cable Television Ass'n, Inc. v. F.C.C. , 479 F.2d 183, 186 (D.C. Cir. 1973) ).

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Bluebook (online)
342 F. Supp. 3d 166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hodes-v-us-dept-of-treasury-cadc-2018.