Landmark Legal Found. v. DOL, No. 13-1468, 2017 WL 3531505 (D.D.C. Aug. 16, 2017) (Walton, J.)

Landmark Legal Found. v. DOL, No. 13-1468, 2017 WL 3531505 (D.D.C. Aug. 16, 2017) (Walton, J.)

Re:  Requests for certain records "'evincing'" use of personal email accounts, text messages or any social media to conduct government business

Disposition:  Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other grounds for Dismissal:  "[T]he Court concludes that [plaintiff's] FOIA request in this case is identical to its FOIA request in [an earlier case], except for the agency from which records are sought."  "And because the court in [the earlier case] has already addressed the issue of whether [plaintiff's] FOIA request as drafted is a valid FOIA request, this Court finds that collateral estoppel precludes [plaintiff] from pursuing that same request in this case."  The court relates that "[t]he court in [the earlier case] found that [plaintiff's] 'request for "[r]ecords evincing the use of" personal email accounts and other electronic communication and social media platforms to conduct government business [did] not enable a professional [Department of Justice] employee to determine what records [were] being sought[]'" because "[plaintiff] had 'not define[d] "evince," nor explain[ed] how a record can "evince" the use of personal email or social media accounts.'"