Mabie v. USMS, No. 18-1276, 2019 WL 570924 (S.D. Ill. Feb. 12, 2019) (Gilbert, J.)

Mabie v. USMS, No. 18-1276, 2019 WL 570924 (S.D. Ill. Feb. 12, 2019) (Gilbert, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning 2014 upgrade to video surveillance and recording system in East St. Louis federal courthouse, Melvin Price Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse

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

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  "The Court is satisfied from [defendant's] explanations that the search conducted was a good faith search reasonably calculated to uncover all responsive documents."  The court finds that "[plaintiff's] speculation that the search must have been inadequate because responsive records may exist somewhere . . . does not convince the Court that the USMS's search was not in good faith."
   
• Waiver:  "[T]he Court cannot find that the USMS waived its right to assert the otherwise valid FOIA exemptions."  The court finds that "[t]here is no indication that the USMS has made any official disclosure of the information it redacted from the pages it disclosed, although the system's manufacturer may have."  "This does not amount to an official acknowledgement of the information."
   
• Attorney Fees, Eligibility:  The court finds that "[plaintiff] has not obtained any of aforementioned relief indicating he has substantially prevailed in this litigation."  "Consequently, he is not eligible for an award of costs, as he requests in his summary judgment motion."