Wickwire Gavin, P.C. v. Defense Intelligence Agency

330 F. Supp. 2d 592, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15364, 2004 WL 1772962
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedJuly 26, 2004
Docket1:04CV37 (JCC)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 330 F. Supp. 2d 592 (Wickwire Gavin, P.C. v. Defense Intelligence Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wickwire Gavin, P.C. v. Defense Intelligence Agency, 330 F. Supp. 2d 592, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15364, 2004 WL 1772962 (E.D. Va. 2004).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CACHERIS, Senior District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons stated below, the Court will grant DIA’s motion only as to those documents listed in the Vaughn Index claiming FOIA Exemption Three (re-dactions of the names of DIA personnel) and FOIA Exemption 5. In all other respects the Court will deny the Defendant’s motion.

I. Background

By letter dated October 30, 2003, Wick-wire Gavin, P.C. (“WG”), a professional corporation and law firm, submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) (“FOIA”) for a copy of “all contracts awarded by the Department of Defense, or any component thereof, to Blane International Group, Inc. of Roswell, Georgia or to Milton C. Blane, including but limited to Contract No. MDA908-99-C-002.” (Amend.Compl^ 5.) (“Request I”) The DIA is a Department of Defense combat support agency and part of the United State’s Intelligence Community. The DIA is the primary producer of foreign military intelligence serving all of the branches of the United States military.

Plaintiff filed a second FOIA request on November 12, 2003, seeking “the contract files for Contract No. MDA908-99-C-002, which WG believes to be a contract between the Department of Defense or one of its components, and Blane International Group, Inc.” (Amend. Compl. ¶ 6 (“Request II”).)

Plaintiff filed this lawsuit on January 13, 2004 to obtain the release of records sought in Request I and Request II. By letter of February 12, 2004, the DIA produced documents responsive to Request I. (Def.Ex. C.) The DIA released 16 documents, with redactions, consisting of the contract and modifications to the contract. Redactions were made pursuant to FOIA exemptions (b)(2) (information pertaining to internal rules and practices of the agency), (b)(3) (information specifically exempt by statute), and 10 U.S.C. § 424. (Def.Ex. C.)

On March 3, 2004, WG amended its complaint, asserting that all materials should *595 have been released and that no documents or portions thereof were subject to any exemption under the FOIA.

On March 30, 2004, the DIA released further documents and informed WG - of the existence of 156 documents from the contract file (responsive to Request II), and one document of the Department of Defense, but stated that the documents were exempt under FOIA exceptions (b)(1) (classified information) and (b)(4) (trade secrets or commercial and financial information obtained from a person on a privilege or confidential basis). (Def.Ex. E.)

On May 13, 2004 and after requests by WG, the DIA agreed to provide a Vaughn Index 1 by May 19, 2004. On May 20, 2004, DIA informed WG that it had located 163 documents and was releasing 120 of them in whole or in part. (Def.Ex. F.) The DIA also provided WG with a Vaughn index. On June 18, 2004, the DIA released additional documents and a corrected Vaughn Index. (See Def. Ex. H.)

The documents in this case fall into one of the five following categories:

Doc. Nos. (as numbered Type in the Vaughn Index)
Released in its 1, 7, 8, 24, 27, 36, 37, 87, entirety (25 102,103,107-110,113, Documents) 116,118,122-126,148, 160,163
2-6, 9, 11, 12, 14-23, 26-28, 31-35, 38-42, 44-46, 51, 52, 57-59, 63, 69, 70, 73-77, 81-86, 89-94, 96-101,104-106,112,114, 115,117, 119-121,127, 130,132, 135,141-143, 147,150-159 Released, but with DIA personnel names redacted (96 Documents)
Not released 10,13, 29,47-50, 53-56, or released in 60, 61, 64, 65, 67, 68, 71, part as “classi- 72, 78, 79, 80, 88, 95, 128, fied.” (40 129,131,133,134, 136-
Documents) 140,144-146,149,161, 162
Not released 25, 111 as subject to attorney-client privilege (2 Documents)
Not released 43 as being an inter-agency memorandum or letter referred by the agency to the Department of Defense for release determination

II. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is appropriate only if the record shows that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Evans v. Technologies Applications & Serv., Co., 80 F.3d 954, 958-59 (4th Cir.1996) (citations omitted). In reviewing the record on summary judgment, “the court must draw any inferences in the light most favorable to the non-movant” and “determine whether the record taken as a whole could lead a reasonable trier of fact to find for the non-movant.” Brock v. Entre Computer Ctrs., 933 F.2d 1253, 1259 (4th Cir.1991) (citations omitted).

The very existence of a scintilla of evidence or of unsubstantiated conclusory allegations, however, is insufficient to avoid summary judgment. Anderson, 477 U.S. *596 at 248-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Rather, the Court must determine whether the record as a whole could lead a reasonable trier of fact to find for the non-movant. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

III. Analysis

As the Fourth Circuit has noted, “FOIA was enacted as a general disclosure statute pertaining to all federal records.” Bowers v. United States Dep’t of Justice, 930 F.2d 350, 353 (4th Cir.1991). However, “Congress ‘realized that legitimate governmental and private interests could be harmed by release of certain types of information.’ ” Id. at 353-54 (quoting FBI v. Abramson, 456 U.S. 615, 621, 102 S.Ct. 2054, 72 L.Ed.2d 376 (1982)); see also Critical Mass Energy Project v. Nuclear Regulatory Comm’n, 975 F.2d 871, 872 (D.C.Cir.1992) (en banc) (same). It therefore created certain exemptions to disclosure under FOIA, but nevertheless required that such exemptions “be narrowly construed in favor of disclosure.” Bowers, 930 F.2d at 354.

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330 F. Supp. 2d 592, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15364, 2004 WL 1772962, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wickwire-gavin-pc-v-defense-intelligence-agency-vaed-2004.