Sikes v. Dep't of Navy, No. 316-074, 2017 WL 1536449 (S.D. Ga. Apr. 27, 2017) (Bowen, J.)

Sikes v. Dep't of Navy, No. 316-074, 2017 WL 1536449 (S.D. Ga. Apr. 27, 2017) (Bowen, J.)

Re: Request for certain records concerning deceased former Chief of Naval Operations

Disposition: Granting defendant's motion to dismiss

• Litigation Considerations, In Camera Inspection: "[The] Court does not have jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claim respecting [the instant] FOIA [r]equest . . . in that Plaintiff has failed to allege that the Navy has improperly withheld an agency record." "Instead, [plaintiff] agrees that the Navy has already produced responsive documents." "Plaintiff though asks the Court to conduct an in camera review of the Navy's response to [the instant] FOIA [r]equest . . . to determine whether the Navy made any substitutions or omissions in its response to [a previous] FOIA [r]equest[], which "[p]laintiff admits . . . is the same" as [the current request.]" "This request for relief, however, is beyond the scope of the FOIA." "The FOIA grants [the] Court jurisdiction (1) 'to enjoin the agency from withholding agency records' or (2) 'to order the production of any agency records improperly withheld.'" "The FOIA permits in camera review of agency records 'to determine whether such records or any part thereof shall be withheld under any of the exemptions . . .'" "The FOIA does not provide for [the] Court's jurisdiction to conduct an inquiry into the adequacy of a past production of documents in another case, particularly where the complainant cannot allege that the documents have been improperly withheld." The court similarly rejects plaintiff's attempt to have "[the] Court to perform an in camera review, [in order to] compar[e] the . . . suicide note [withheld] to the contents of Plaintiff's 'Putative Copy' of the note." The court finds that "[t]he FOIA does not provide a basis for this type of inquiry."
   
• Waiver: The court rejects plaintiff's waiver argument. The court relates that, "in response to [one request], the Navy produced a photograph of [the deceased former Chief of Naval Operations'] desk that depicts an unclear image of his final note to his wife." "Consequently, Plaintiff contends that the Navy has already produced the note and cannot now withhold the actual note." The court finds that "[p]laintiff's premise, however, is faulty." "The note has not been released." "In fact, it was redacted based upon the FOIA privacy exemption[.]" "The fact that the note is unclear or blurred in the released photograph is not inconsistent with the Navy's intent to withhold the contents of the note." "In short, the Navy has not somehow waived the privacy exemption by producing a photograph that incidentally contains a blurry, illegible depiction of the suicide note."