Judicial Watch, Inc. v. IRS, No. 13-1759, 2015 WL 4072431 (D.D.C. July 3, 2015) (Sullivan, J.)

Judicial Watch, Inc. v. IRS, No. 13-1759, 2015 WL 4072431 (D.D.C. July 3, 2015) (Sullivan, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning selection of individuals for audit based on information contained in 501(c)(4) tax exempt applications

Disposition: Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  The court finds that defendant conducted an adequate search.  First, the court notes that "[t]he IRS asserted in its motion that its various searches fully discharged its responsibilities under FOIA because by determining that the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division had not referred any individual for audit based upon information contained in a 501(c)(4) application, the IRS could reasonably conclude that no records exist that are responsive to [plaintiff's] request."  The court agrees with defendant and finds that "[plaintiff's] indirect attack on the IRS search of all locations in which a record of a referral of an individual for audit based upon information gleaned from a 501(c)(4) application is rejected."  The court explains that "[a]ny correlation between a name on a donor list and an audit cannot, without more, overcome the presumption that the IRS's detailed explanation of its audit-referral processes and its search thereof was complete and correct in determining that no responsive referrals occurred during the relevant time period."  Second, "[t]he Court accepts the good faith and detailed declaration of the Director of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, who stated that any guidance or similar records would either be on the Division's 'intranet website' or would be found in applicable 'sections of the Internal Revenue Manual.'"  The court finds that "[a]bsent any reason to doubt the declaration–which is accorded a presumption of good faith . . . –the Court finds that the IRS identified all record-keeping systems that might contain the guidance documents sought by Judicial Watch and searched them thoroughly."
   
• Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records:  The court agrees with "[t]he IRS['s] argu[ment] that its findings that there are neither official directives nor guidance regarding the use of information in a Section 501(c)(4) application and that no individual audit referrals took place based upon information gleaned from a Section 501(c)(4) application make it unnecessary to search for further documents, including communications, on the subject."  The court takes note of the fact that any search for this information "would require the search of approximately 16,000 employee email accounts (of individuals in 442 different cities)."  The court agrees with "[t]he IRS['s] argu[ment] that this incredible burden is especially undue because of the unlikelihood that anything responsive would be uncovered."  "The IRS's other searches establish–and [plaintiff's] evidence has not controverted–that no individuals were referred for audit based upon information gleaned from a Section 501(c)(4) application."  "Therefore, it is speculation at best to say that there exist communications discussing decisions to audit an individual based upon 501(c)(4) applications."