Ellawendy v. Takagaki, No. 21-05273, 2022 WL 17812928 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2022) (Orrick, J.)

Ellawendy v. Takagaki, No. 21-05273, 2022 WL 17812928 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2022) (Orrick, J.)

Re:  Request that court order production of plaintiff’s personnel file

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff’s request

• Litigation Considerations, Relief:  The court holds that “[a]lthough FOIA grants district courts the power to ‘order the production of any agency records improperly withheld from the complainant,’ this case is not the proper vehicle for [plaintiff] to seek such relief.”  “FOIA requires agencies to make certain information public; [plaintiff] is an individual and the relevant agency, the Army, is not a defendant in this case.”  “Moreover, the denial letter [plaintiff] submitted in support of his request came from the Defense Contract Audit Agency, which audits DoD contracting offices.”  “It is unclear whether the Army in fact withheld the requested records from [plaintiff], warranting any action by the court.”