Charles v. United States, No. 21-1983, 2022 WL 951242 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2022) (Howell, C.J.)

Charles v. United States, No. 21-1983, 2022 WL 951242 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2022) (Howell, C.J.)

Re:  Request for plaintiff's records maintained by agency

Disposition:  Denying defendant's motion for partial dismissal; denying plaintiff's motion for sanctions

• Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests: "DOJ has now moved for dismissal . . . on the grounds that the Request failed, in part, to 'reasonably describe' the records sought under FOIA."  "DOJ regulation[s] create[] a 'duty to confer' with a requester where confusion exists as to 'what types of records or information' are sought."  "Thus, where the DOJ component fails to confer with a requester regarding a confusing request . . . courts have been disinclined to side with the agency on a claim that the request is unclear or overly broad."  "Here, regardless of the explanation needed by DOJ to clarify subparts four and five of the Request, DOJ apparently, based on the record before the Court, made no effort to confer with plaintiff to resolve any issues at any point prior to filing its motion to dismiss, in violation of its duty to confer outlined in its own FOIA regulations."  " Yet, the duty to 'attempt to clarify' a request is assigned to DOJ, not plaintiff, under the agency's own regulations, which recognize that direct communication between the parties, rather than indirect negotiation in the pages of court filings, is a more efficient path to clarifying the scope of the Request."  "Should plaintiff refuse to refine or clarify his Request, DOJ may seek relief at a later stage of the case on the grounds that plaintiff's Request 'remains too vague, unreasonably overbroad, and fails to describe the records it seeks,' . . . despite good-faith efforts by DOJ to clarify."  "DOJ has undertaken zero effort to discuss, let alone resolve, any of its purported confusion, particularly given the legal expertise of the respective parties in this lawsuit."  "The parties are capable—and indeed instructed—to confer in an effort to resolve any such confusion."  "See . . . Freedom of Information Act Guidelines, Att'y Gen. Mem. at 1, 3 (Mar. 15, 2022) ('strongly encourag[ing]' agencies 'to make discretionary disclosures of information where appropriate' and 'work with FOIA requesters in a spirit of cooperation' and stating that '[i]n case of doubt, openness should prevail')."