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Yanofsky v. Dep't of Com., No. 19-2290, 2020 WL 5944448 (D.D.C. Oct. 6, 2020) (Brown Jackson, J.)

Date

Yanofsky v. Dep't of Com., No. 19-2290, 2020 WL 5944448 (D.D.C. Oct. 6, 2020) (Brown Jackson, J.)

Re:  Request for data files for I-92 United States International Air Travel Statistics Program and I-94 Visitor Arrivals Program

Disposition:  Denying defendant's motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment

  • Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal & Adequacy of Search:  The court holds that "[t]he DOC's motion and attachments do not establish that the agency has produced the records that [plaintiff] requested."  "The DOC maintains that it discharged its duties under the FOIA by releasing datasheets of its standardized summary reports."  "Based on this Court's review of the record, however, it appears that these summary reports do not contain all of the I-92 and I-94 data that [plaintiff] seeks, and that the DOC may in fact possess a database that contains the non-aggregated data points that [plaintiff] has requested."  "The Court reaches the same conclusion with respect to [plaintiff's] motion for summary judgment."  "Although the record suggests that the DOC may well maintain a database of anonymized, non-aggregated I-92 and I-94 data, the current record is insufficient to establish conclusively that the DOC possesses such records."  "And because the DOC's briefs do not address the exact data files that [plaintiff] has requested . . . , the Court is not in a position to evaluate whether the DOC has actually withheld responsive documents, and if so, whether the agency may properly do so under the FOIA."
Court Decision Topic(s)
District Court opinions
Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search
Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal
Updated November 6, 2020