TREVOR N. McFADDEN, District Judge.
Plaintiff Melvin Anderson, a federal prisoner appearing pro se, brought this action to compel the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP" or "the Bureau") to produce various documents under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). The Bureau has since released responsive records and moved for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Mot. for Summ. J., ECF No. 15. Anderson has not opposed the motion. For the reasons explained below, the Court finds that the Bureau has shown its compliance with the FOIA and is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
In response to the complaint filed on March 3, 2018, BOP "concedes" that Plaintiff's FOIA request "was received by BOP's Central Office" but "was not entered into BOP's FOIAXpress" tracking system. Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ("Facts") ¶ 8, ECF No. 15-2.
Id. ¶ 9; see Compl. ¶ 1, ECF No. 1. The Bureau searched files maintained by (1) its Designation and Sentence Computation Center, (2) the National Inmate Appeals Administrator, (3) Hazelton United States Penitentiary in West Virginia (Plaintiff's current location), and (4) the United States Penitentiary in Coleman, Florida (Plaintiff's prior location). See Facts ¶¶ 11-18. The Bureau also requested staff at USP Coleman "to search its records and some individual staff members to search their records, either electronic or hard copy[.]" Id. ¶ 12. BOP located 57 responsive pages. Id. ¶ 19.
The Bureau released nine unredacted pages and 30 redacted pages to Anderson; it withheld 18 pages. Information was withheld under FOIA exemptions 6, 7(C), 7(E) and 7(F), codified in 5 U.S.C. § 552(b). Def.'s Ex. 3, ECF No. 15-3 (Determination Letter).
On August 23, 2018, the Bureau filed the pending motion for summary judgment, supported by the Stroble Declaration and a Vaughn Index, ECF No. 15-5.
FOIA requires federal agencies to "disclose information to the public upon reasonable request unless the records at issue fall within specifically delineated exemptions." Judicial Watch, Inc. v. FBI, 522 F.3d 364, 365-66 (D.C. Cir. 2008); see also 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A) (records sought must be "reasonably describe[d]"). In FOIA cases, the district court reviews the record de novo, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B), and views the facts and draws all inferences "in the light most favorable to the requester." Weisberg v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 745 F.2d 1476, 1485 (D.C. Cir. 1984).
The "vast majority" of FOIA cases can be decided on motions for summary judgment. See Brayton v. Office of U.S. Trade Representative, 641 F.3d 521, 527 (D.C. Cir. 2011). When, as here, a motion is uncontested, the Court still must "state on the record the reasons for granting or denying" it. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see Winston & Strawn, LLP v. McLean, 843 F.3d 503, 505 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (finding the burden rests with the movant to show why summary judgment is warranted; consequently, the district court "must always determine for itself whether the record and any undisputed material facts justify granting summary judgment") (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)). To prevail on summary judgment, the movant must show an absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247 (1986).
In the FOIA context, an agency must prove that no material facts are in dispute, that it has conducted an adequate search for responsive records, and that each responsive record has either been produced to the requestor or is exempt from disclosure. See Weisberg v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 627 F.2d 365, 368 (D.C. Cir. 1980). To establish an adequate search, an agency can submit 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 (if such records exist) were searched." Oglesby v. U.S. Dep't of the Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C. Cir. 1990). Although agency declarations are given "a presumption of good faith," SafeCard Servs. Inc. v. S.E.C., 926 F.2d 1197, 1200 (D.C. Cir. 1991), they must also describe the agency's search with "specificity." Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press & Assoc. Press v. FBI, 877 F.3d 399, 403 (D.C. Cir. 2017).
Agencies also have the burden of demonstrating that the withheld document falls into one of the enumerated exemptions. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B); see also Natural Res. Defense Council, Inc. v. Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 216 F.3d 1180, 1190 (D.C. Cir. 2000). This includes providing a sufficiently detailed description of the exemption, the portion(s) of documents to which it applies, and justification as to why the exemption is relevant, so that the district court can conduct a de novo review of the agency's determination. See Church of Scientology of Cal, Inc. v. Turner, 662 F.2d 784, 786 (D.C. Cir. 1980); Mead Data Cent., Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of the Air Force, 566 F.2d 242, 251 (D.C Cir. 1977).
The D.C. Circuit instructs:
ACLU v. U.S. Dep't of Def., 628 F.3d 612, 619 (D.C. Cir. 2011). The Bureau's declaration and Vaughn index satisfy that standard, and Anderson has offered nothing to the contrary. It may well be that Anderson's silence signals his satisfaction with the released documents. In any event, the record justifies granting summary judgment.
First, the Bureau withheld most of the requested information under the FOIA's personal privacy exemptions 6 and 7(C). Exemption 6 protects information about individuals in "personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). Exemption 7(C) protects "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes," which if disclosed "could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
The Bureau properly withheld information about third-party individuals under exemption 6 and, with most documents, in conjunction with exemptions 7(C) and 7(F).
"The D.C. Circuit has consistently held that exemption 7(C) protects the privacy interests of all persons mentioned in law enforcement records, including investigators, suspects, witnesses and informants, . . . and has determined that such third-party information is `categorically exempt' from disclosure under exemption 7(C), in the absence of an overriding public interest in its disclosure." Lewis v. Dep't of Justice, 609 F.Supp.2d 80, 84 (D.D.C. 2009), aff'd, No. 09-5225, 2010 WL 1632835 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 7, 2010) (citations omitted). The Supreme Court also has made clear that "[w]here the privacy concerns addressed by [e]xemption 7(C) are present," the burden lies with "the person requesting the information to establish a sufficient reason for the disclosure." Nat'l Archives & Records Admin. v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157, 172 (2004). The same applies "in the case of [e]xemption 6." Beck v. Dep't of Justice, 997 F.2d 1489, 1491 (D.C. Cir. 1993). Because Anderson has filed no opposition, much less one asserting a public interest, nothing precludes granting summary judgment to Defendant on exemptions 6 and 7(C).
Second, Anderson has not challenged BOP's justifications for withholding information under FOIA exemption 7(E), which protects information that "would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or . . . guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E). The D.C. Circuit has "set a relatively low bar for the agency," requiring it to "only . . . demonstrate logically how the release of the requested information might create a risk of circumvention of the law." Blackwell, 646 F.3d at 42 (quoting Mayer Brown LLP v. IRS, 562 F.3d 1190, 1194 (D.C. Cir. 2009)). The Bureau has done that, see Vaughn Index at 41, 52, 62 (discussing Investigative Reports), and so is entitled to summary judgment on exemption 7(E).
Finally, the Court must make a finding about whether the Bureau has released all reasonably segregable non-exempt information. See Trans-Pacific Policing Agreement v. United States Customs Service, 177 F.3d 1022, 1028 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (placing an "affirmative duty" on the district court to address record segregability). Plaintiff does not refute that he "was provided. . . any reasonably segregable, non-exempt information contained in [the responsive] documents[.]" Stroble Decl. ¶ 15. And the Vaughn Index confirms throughout that the responsive documents were "evaluated for segregability and any exemptions applied were made with a good faith determination that the information withheld fit the FOIA exemption." Index at 9. Accordingly, the Court is satisfied that all reasonably segregable records were produced.
For the reasons stated above, the Bureau's motion for summary judgment will be granted. A separate order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.