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Kowack v. U.S. Forest Serv., No. 11-95, 2015 WL 3767126 (D. Mont. June 16, 2015) (Molloy, J.)

Date

Kowack v. U.S. Forest Serv., No. 11-95, 2015 WL 3767126 (D. Mont. June 16, 2015) (Molloy, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff's hostile workplace allegations

Disposition: Ordering defendant to produce a less redacted version of the documents at issue

  • Exemption 6:  The court holds that "the Forest Service improperly withheld more of the witness statements and administrative documents than proper under Exemption 6."  First, the court finds that "there is no cognizable privacy interest in those portions of the documents that reference only [plaintiff] and do not identify others."  "This information must also be disclosed without any showing of public interest."  Second, the court finds that "[plaintiff] has not shown that references to past disciplinary or grievance actions or knowing the identity of the witnesses would contribute significantly to the substantive information in the statements and administrative documents concerning the manner in which the Forest Service has performed its statutory duties."  However, the court also finds that "the disclosure of certain personal information is necessary to provide an accurate picture of the agency's conduct."  "To the extent [this] information may be disclosed without identifying the witness, revealing references to past disciplinary or grievance actions, or exposing petty interoffice commentary, the public interest in its disclosure outweighs the countervailing privacy interest."
Court Decision Topic(s)
District Court opinions
Exemption 6
Updated January 12, 2022