Powell v. IRS, No. 16-1682, 2017 WL 2533348 (D.D.C. June 9, 2017) (Boasberg, J.)
Powell v. IRS, No. 16-1682, 2017 WL 2533348 (D.D.C. June 9, 2017) (Boasberg, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning Powell Printing Company, plaintiff's father and grandfather, and certain trusts
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant's motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests: The court holds that "FOIA only requires that an agency turn over records, not that it provide a requestor with specific information or answer questions." "To the extent, then, that [plaintiff] is attempting to question the authenticity of certain documents already released to him, . . . or to seek acquisition or confirmation of certain information outside of his requests for particular records, his claims cannot proceed." Separately, the court finds that, "[g]iven the brevity of [defendant's] briefing on [whether "[plaintiff] [ever] perfected [a portion of] his request [because] . . . he failed to attach the appropriate forms or documentation showing his authority to obtain tax records for [the Andrew Powell Printing Company]"], the Court cannot find that Defendant has met its burden to show that Powell has clearly failed to make a valid request for these records." The court explains that "[t]he agency never clearly discusses . . . whether the documentation it has otherwise received is sufficient." The court finds similarly on other records concerning the printing company.
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court holds that "where [plaintiff] makes no allegation that he ever requested particular records from Defendant, his FOIA claims related to these documents must be dismissed."
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal: The court agrees with defendant's "argu[ment] that [plaintiff's] claims to three of the transcripts that he did request . . . are now moot, as the IRS turned them over to him." The court finds that "[a]lthough [plaintiff] nevertheless protests that his claim to them should not be dismissed because he believes [the transcripts] were altered, he provides no reason to demonstrate this to be the case[.]" "Likewise, his further complaint that he cannot decipher the information provided in the transcripts is not relevant to a claim under FOIA."