Reep v. U.S. Dep't of Justice

302 F. Supp. 3d 174
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedMarch 22, 2018
DocketCase No: 16–cv–1275–RCL
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 302 F. Supp. 3d 174 (Reep v. U.S. Dep't of Justice) 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
Reep v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 302 F. Supp. 3d 174 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

Royce C. Lamberth, United States District Judge *179I. INTRODUCTION

This case concerns a March 2009 request by pro se plaintiff Rodney Reep under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, for records held by defendants Executive Office for United States Attorneys ("EOUSA"), Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), United States Drug Enforcement Agency ("DEA"), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF"). The plaintiff requested records regarding himself and records relating to two criminal cases prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

On June 23, 2016, Mr. Reep brought suit against the defendant agencies under FOIA, the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and the Administrative Procedure Act. The gravamen of plaintiff's complaint is that the agencies failed to uphold their obligations under FOIA. The government moved to dismiss the suit as against defendants EOUSA, FBI, and DEA, arguing that the Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over claims barred by the statute of limitations. In the same filing, defendant ATF moved for summary judgment in its favor, arguing that it fulfilled all of its obligations under FOIA as it relates to Mr. Reep's requests. Mr. Reep filed an opposition brief and the defendants chose not to reply.

Upon consideration of the defendants motion, the plaintiff's opposition, the entire record, and the applicable law, the Court GRANTS dismissal of the suit as to defendants EOUSA, FBI, and DEA, and GRANTS defendant ATF's motion for summary judgement. ECF No. 12.

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1)

To survive a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), the plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the Court has subject-matter jurisdiction to hear the claim. See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife , 504 U.S. 555, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). Unlike when addressing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court "may consider materials outside the pleadings in deciding whether to grant a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction." Jerome Stevens Pharm., Inc. v. Food & Drug Admin. , 402 F.3d 1249, 1253 (D.C. Cir. 2005).

B. Summary Judgment in FOIA Cases

Summary judgment is appropriate where "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. PRO. 56(a). As applied in a FOIA case, an agency defendant may be entitled to summary judgment if it demonstrates that 1) no material facts are in dispute, 2) it has conducted an adequate search for responsive records, and 3) each responsive record that it has located has either been produced to the plaintiff or is exempt from disclosure. Miller v. U.S. Dep't of Justice , 872 F.Supp.2d 12, 18 (D.D.C. 2012) (citing Weisberg v. DOJ , 627 F.2d 365, 368 (D.C. Cir. 1980) ).

When an agency receives a FOIA request it is obligated to "conduct a search reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents." Truitt v. Dep't of State , 897 F.2d 540, 541 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (internal quotation marks omitted). The adequacy of a search, therefore, depends not on "whether any further documents might conceivably exist," id. , but on the *180search's design and scope. An agency must accordingly show that it made "a good faith effort to conduct a search for the requested records, using methods [that] can be reasonably expected to produce the information requested." Oglesby v. U.S. Dep't of Army , 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C. Cir. 1990).

The agency bears the burden of showing that it complied with FOIA and it may meet this burden "by providing '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 ... were searched.' " Iturralde v. Comptroller of Currency , 315 F.3d 311, 313-14 (D.C. Cir. 2003). The plaintiff may then "provide 'countervailing evidence' as to the adequacy of the agency's search." Id. at 314. If a review of the record created by these affidavits "raises substantial doubt," as to a search's adequacy, "particularly in view of 'well defined requests and positive indications of overlooked materials' " summary judgment would not be appropriate. Valencia-Lucena v. U.S. Coast Guard , 180 F.3d 321, 326 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (quoting Founding Church of Scientology v. Nat'l. Sec. Agency , 610 F.2d 824, 837 (D.C. Cir. 1979) ).

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302 F. Supp. 3d 174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reep-v-us-dept-of-justice-cadc-2018.