Schoeffler v. Dep't of Agric., No. 18-16371, 2020 WL 901533 (9th Cir. Feb. 25, 2020) (per curiam)

Schoeffler v. Dep't of Agric., No. 18-16371, 2020 WL 901533 (9th Cir. Feb. 25, 2020) (per curiam)

Re:  Request for certain records concerning death of nineteen firefighters, as well as request for records concerning requester

Disposition:  Affirming district court's grant of government's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  Regarding one request, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that "[t]he Department's declarations showed that the agency conducted an adequate search."  The court specifically notes that the government searched "the office most likely to hold responsive documents."  The court finds similarly regarding the requester's other identical request.  Responding to the requester's objection, the court also finds that "[the requester's] evidence of the Department's possession of responsive documents is not dispositive or necessarily material to the legally determinative question:  'whether the search for those documents was adequate.'"
   
• Litigation Considerations, Vaughn Index/Declaration:  Responding to the requester's objection, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that "declarations in FOIA cases are exempt from that 'personal knowledge requirement.'"
   
• Litigation Considerations, Discovery:  The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that "[t]he district court did not abuse its discretion by denying [the requester's] requests to take discovery."  "The evidence does not support [the requester's] assertion that the Department's declarations were submitted in bad faith."