Scott v. Treasury Inspector Gen. for Tax Admin., No. 19-10653, 2019 WL 4893924 (11th Cir. Oct. 4, 2019) (per curiam)

Scott v. Treasury Inspector Gen. for Tax Admin., No. 19-10653, 2019 WL 4893924 (11th Cir. Oct. 4, 2019) (per curiam)

Re:  Request for records concerning requester's complaint about IRS employee

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

• Exemption 6:  The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit holds that "[a]ll of the information was . . . properly withheld under Exemption 6 . . . ."  The court finds that "the withheld information was correctly categorized as 'similar files' under Exemption 6 because it contains detailed government records on an individual employee of the IRS."  "It contains specifics about the investigation of the employee's alleged misconduct in issuing a private letter ruling as well as the resolution of the complaint."  "As such, the investigation and resolution would draw significant speculation, stigma, and embarrassment, as well as practical disabilities such as loss of employment independent of the ultimate resolution, thereby clearly giving rise to an unwarranted invasion of privacy."  "[The court] agree[s] with the district court that, as against this invasion of privacy, the resolution would shed little, if any, light on the Inspector General's performance of his statutory duties – the public interest that [the requester] argues warrants disclosure."  "While the agency complaint to the Inspector General raises concerns about the employee's compliance with the IRS manual and the process that resulted in the private letter ruling, [the requester] fails to allege that such conduct extends beyond this single action but rather seeks to reveal the outcome of an isolated disciplinary action."