Gonzales v. United States, No. 16-1716, 2018 WL 294528 (D.D.C. Jan. 3, 2018) (Jackson, J.)

Gonzales v. United States, No. 16-1716, 2018 WL 294528 (D.D.C. Jan. 3, 2018) (Jackson, J.)

Re:  Requests for "'bonding'" information, as well as records concerning plaintiff's criminal case

Disposition:  Denying defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  The court holds that "defendant 'leaves substantial doubt as to the sufficiency of the search[es],' . . . and it has failed to meet its burden on summary judgment."  The court finds that "[defendant's] declaration includes only a vague and conclusory description of the search that was undertaken."  "Also, for reasons that are not entirely clear, the defense also provides a declaration from . . . the FOIA Contact in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia[.]"  "The problem is that plaintiff sent both of his FOIA requests to the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado, and each request mentions criminal cases in federal and state courts in Colorado."  The court finds that "defendant's submission on summary judgment fails to explain the relevance or the reasonableness of a search for records located in the USAO–DC instead of similar record systems in Colorado."