823 F.2d 553 (6th Cir. 1987), 86-3033, Kilroy v. N.L.R.B.

• Docket Nº: 86-3033
• Citation: 823 F.2d 553
• Party Name: Robert W. KILROY; American Commercial Barge Line Company, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD; Donald Dotson, Patricia Diaz Dennis, Wilford W. Johansen, Marshal C. Babson, James M. Stevens, as members of the Board; Rosemary M. Collyer, Emil C. Farkas and Mary M. Shanklin, Defendants-Appellants.
• Case Date: July 15, 1987
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Page 553

823 F.2d 553 (6th Cir. 1987)

Robert W. KILROY; American Commercial Barge Line Company, Plaintiffs-Appellees,

v.

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD; Donald Dotson, Patricia Diaz Dennis, Wilford W. Johansen, Marshal C. Babson, James M. Stevens, as members of the Board; Rosemary M. Collyer, Emil C. Farkas and Mary M. Shanklin, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 86-3033

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

July 15, 1987

Editorial Note:

This opinion appears in the Federal reporter in a table titled "Table of Decisions Without Reported Opinions". (See FI CTA6 Rule 28 and FI CTA6 IOP 206 regarding use of unpublished opinions)

S.D. Ohio, 633 F.Supp. 136

AFFIRMED.

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Before RYAN, BOGGS and BROWN, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

This appeal involves the fifth exemption of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). The NLRB contends that the district court erred in requiring that certain documents, descriptively entitled 'charging party statements,' be released at plaintiffs' request. We agree with the district court that because these statements are not inter-agency documents, they are not entitled to nondisclosure.

I.

Initially, plaintiffs sought disclosure of the charging party statements, letters of dismissal in the absence of withdrawal, and any memoranda pertaining to fifty-nine unfair labor practice cases. All of the cases in question are closed. The NLRB released the 'formal' documents in the files, but withheld the charging party statements. Plaintiffs are seeking these statements for the purpose of showing that the NLRB has treated them disparately in the processing of unfair labor charges and to propose legislation to Congress to correct this abuse.

After exhausting their administrative remedies, plaintiffs filed suit in federal district court seeking disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The district court held that the statements were not entitled to nondisclosure pursuant to the fifth exemption. The district court made two findings that are challenged in this appeal. First, the court found that the charging party statements are not generated by agency employees, but by private parties with no formal relationship to the agency. Therefore, the court concluded that these statements are not inter-agency or...