Yagman v. Pompeo, 868 F.3d 1075 (9th Cir. 2017) (Paez, J.)

Yagman v. Pompeo, 868 F.3d 1075 (9th Cir. 2017) (082817) (Paez, J.)

Re:  Request for information concerning certain CIA employees

Disposition:  Reversing and remanding district court's grant of government's motion to dismiss

• Procedural Considerations, Proper FOIA Requests:  The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit "conclude[s] that the district court erred when it dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and [it] reverse[s] the district court's judgment."  "But [the court] agree[s] with the district court that [the requester] failed to 'reasonably describe' the records he sought."  The court first "hold[s] that the district court erred in concluding that [the requester's] request constituted a question rather than a request for records."  The court explains that, "[l]iberally construed, [the requester] requested '[r]ecords/information' identifying CIA employees or affiliates who have engaged in torture after September 11, 2001."  "The fact that [the requester's] request references President Obama's August 1, 2014 statement does not transform [the requester's] request into a question."  However, the court also finds that "[t]he flaw of [the requester's] FOIA request is its vagueness, not the way in which he framed it."  The court explains that "[the government] would need to engage in quite a bit of guesswork to execute [the requester's] request."  "His request does not identify specific persons, much less specific documents, types of documents, or types of information."  "Nor does his request suggest much in the way of times, dates, locations, or even clearly indicate if he is seeking the identities of those who have engaged in torture or only those who are alleged to have engaged in torture."  Finally, the court rejects "[the government's] argu[ment] that [the requester's] failure to 'reasonably describe' the records sought constitutes a failure to exhaust administrative remedies."  The court "remand[s] to the district court with instructions to allow [the requester] to reframe his request for documents[]" and "note[s] that courts have held that an agency has 'no right to "resist disclosure because the request fails 'reasonably [to] describe' records unless it has first made a good faith attempt to assist the requester in satisfying that requirement."'"