Windham v. Department of Housing & Urban Development

140 F. Supp. 3d 163, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141775, 2015 WL 6134356
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedOctober 19, 2015
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 14-14069-JGD
StatusPublished

This text of 140 F. Supp. 3d 163 (Windham v. Department of Housing & Urban Development) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Windham v. Department of Housing & Urban Development, 140 F. Supp. 3d 163, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141775, 2015 WL 6134356 (D. Mass. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

DEIN, United States Magistrate Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

The plaintiff, Rachel A. Windham, filed a pro se “Complaint for Injunctive Relief’ (Docket No. 1) seeking to compel the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) to produce documents in response to her Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request made pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552. By her FOIA request, Wind-ham is seeking, as a general statement, documents relating to JP Morgan Chase’s mortgage loan on' her home, which JP Morgan Chase contends is in default. The government has moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. 12(b)(1) on the grounds that this court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over this dispute because HUD does not have the documents the plaintiff is seeking. (Docket No. 19). While the. motion to dismiss was under advisement, Windham filed a “First Amended Motion for Petition for Writ of Mamandus [sic]” seeking a writ of mandamus requiring HUD to produce documents. (Docket No. 31). HUD filed a Response, again asserting that HUD does not have the requested documents, and again [165]*165requesting that the complaint be dismissed. (Docket No. 32).

After careful consideration of the documents submitted and oral arguments of the parties, this court finds that HUD has made a reásonable search for the requested information and that it does not have any of the documents the plaintiff is seeking. The motion to dismiss (Docket No. 19) is ALLOWED, and the motion for writ of mandamus (Docket No. 31) is DENIED.

II. ANALYSIS

Jurisdiction

HUD has brought this motion pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), alleging that this court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction of this claim. “A court is permitted to look beyond the pleadings to determine jurisdiction on ¡a 12(b)(1) motion,” and doing so does not convert the motion into one for summary judgment. Katz v. Pershing, LLC, 806 F.Supp.2d 452, 456 (D.Mass.2011) (and cases cited). See also Valentin v. Hosp. Bella Vista, 254 F.3d 358, 363 (1st Cir.2001) (explaining differences between Rule 12(b)(1) motion and motion for summary judgment). -Therefore, this court will consider the affidavits and other exhibits submitted by both parties in connection with this decision. See Gonzalez v. United States, 284 F.3d 281, 288 (1st Cir.2002).

In connection with a FOIA request, “federal jurisdiction is’ dependent upon a showing that an agency has (1) ‘improperly1; (2) ‘withheld’; (3) ‘agency records.’ ” Kissinger v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 445 U.S. 136, 150, 100 S.Ct. 960, 968, 63 L.Ed.2d 267 (1980) (citing 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B)). Therefore, if an agency did not improperly withhold records, this court lacks jurisdiction over the FOIA dispute. See Carson v. U.S. Office of Special Counsel, 534 F.Supp.2d 99, 103 (D.D.C.2008) (“the Court’s jurisdiction under the FOIA extends only to claims arising from the improper withholding of agency records” (emphasis omitted)). Under such circumstances, dismissal pursuant to Fed; R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) would be appropriate, See Caracciolo v. U.S. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., No. 07 Civ. 3487(KNF), 2008 WL 2622826, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. July 3, 2008) (finding “that the defendant has met its burden of establishing that the Court lacks jurisdiction to enjoin the defendant and to order the production of agency records sought by the plaintiff, by showing that it did not withhold from the plaintiff any of her record documents.”). Similarly, mandamus will only lie where there is “(a) some special risk .of irreparable harm, and (b) clear entitlement to the relief requested.” In re Recticel Foam Corp., 859 F.2d 1000, 1005 (1st Cir.1988). Therefore, if the complaint is dismissed, the motion for a writ of mandamus must be denied as the plaintiff would not .be entitled to the relief sought.

Agency Obligations Under FOIA

In response to a FOIA request, an agency must make “a good faith effort to conduct a search for the requested records, using methods which can be reasonably expected to produce the information requested.” Oleskey ex rel. Boumediene v. U.S. Dep’t of Defense, 658 F.Supp.2d 288, 294 (D.Mass.2009) (quoting Oglesby v. U.S. Dep’t of Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C.Cir. 1990) (and cases cited)). There is no obligation that every conceivable record be searched, rather, the search must be of the files likely to contain responsive materials. Sephton v. F.B.I., 365 F.Supp.2d 91, 100 (D.Mass.2005), aff'd, 442 F.3d 27 (1st Cir. 2006). Under FOIA, adequacy of the search “is not determined by whether relevant documents might exist, but whether the agency’s search was reasonably calculated to discover the requested documents.” Moffat v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 716 F.3d 244, 254 (1st Cir.2013) (internal quotations omitted). This is a case-specific [166]*166inquiry, and the search is judged pursuant to a reasonableness standard. Id The burden is on the agency to establish the reasonableness of its search. Id.

'“In order to establish the adequacy of its search, the agency may rely upon affidavits provided they are relatively detailed and nonconclusory, and are submitted by responsible agency officials in good faith.” Maynard v. C.I.A., 986 F.2d 547, 559 (1st Cir.1993). Moreover, “[a] satisfactory agency affidavit should, at a minimum, describe in reasonable detail the scope and method by which the search was conducted.” Id. “The affidavit should additionally describe at least generally the structure of the agency’s file system which makes further search difficult.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). “[I]f an agency demonstrates that it has conducted a reasonably thorough search, the FOIA requester can rebut the agency’s affidavit only by showing that the agency’s search was not made in good faith.” Id. at 560. “An agency’s affidavit is accorded a presumption of good faith, which cannot be rebutted by purely speculative claims about the existence and discoverability of other documents.” Id. (internal quotations omitted).

Applying these principles, and for the reasons detailed herein, this court finds that the government has met its burden of proving that its search was reasonable, comprehensive and appropriate, and that it has not withheld any responsive documents. The plaintiff has not established that HUD’s search was not conducted in good faith.

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Related

Valentin-De-Jesus v. United Healthcare
254 F.3d 358 (First Circuit, 2001)
Sephton v. Federal Bureau of Investigation
442 F.3d 27 (First Circuit, 2006)
Moffat v. United States Deparment of Justice
716 F.3d 244 (First Circuit, 2013)
Oleskey Ex Rel. Boumediene v. United States Department of Defense
658 F. Supp. 2d 288 (D. Massachusetts, 2009)
Sephton v. Federal Bureau of Investigation
365 F. Supp. 2d 91 (D. Massachusetts, 2005)
Carson v. U.S. Office of Special Counsel
534 F. Supp. 2d 99 (District of Columbia, 2008)
Gonzalez v. United States
284 F.3d 281 (First Circuit, 2002)
Katz v. Pershing, LLC
806 F. Supp. 2d 452 (D. Massachusetts, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
140 F. Supp. 3d 163, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141775, 2015 WL 6134356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/windham-v-department-of-housing-urban-development-mad-2015.