Hobart Corp. v. EEOC, C-3-80-326.

• Decision Date: 22 August 1984
• Docket Number: No. C-3-80-326.,C-3-80-326.
• Parties: HOBART CORPORATION, Plaintiff, v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

603 F. Supp. 1431

HOBART CORPORATION, Plaintiff, v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Defendant.

No. C-3-80-326.

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, W.D.

August 22, 1984.

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Gary L. Janus, Washington, D.C., John D. Sargent, E.E.O.C., Cleveland Dist. Office, Cleveland, Ohio, for defendant.

Daniel Hammer, Cleveland, Ohio, Frank Bazler, Troy, Ohio, for plaintiff.

DECISION AND ENTRY CONDITIONALLY SUSTAINING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON ITEMS # 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17 AND 18, AND THEREBY CONDITIONALLY OVERRULING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THESE ITEMS; PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON ITEMS # 4, 6, 13 AND 20 IS SUSTAINED, AND DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THESE ITEMS IS OVERRULED; PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IS OVERRULED ON ITEMS # 5, 15 AND 16, AND DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THESE ITEMS IS SUSTAINED; PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON ITEMS # 19 AND 21 IS SUSTAINED IN PART AND OVERRULED IN PART, AND DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THESE ITEMS IS SUSTAINED IN PART AND OVERRULED IN PART; SUPPLEMENTARY MEMORANDA REQUESTED; PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DEEMED MOOT

RICE, District Judge.

This claim for disclosure of agency documents under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C.A. § 552 (1977 and Supp.1983) (FOIA or Act), comes before this Court or cross motions for summary judgment, filed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a) (docs. # 14 and # 15). Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant has failed to meet its burden of demonstrating the applicability of the claimed exemptions. In addition, Plaintiff offers various court decisions that are instructive as to whether the Court should apply the claimed exemptions. Defendant alleges that the requested documents are exempt from mandatory disclosure under 5 U.S.C.A. § 552(a)(2)(C), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(5), (b)(7)(A) and (b)(7)(E).

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

By letter dated April 3, 1980, Plaintiff, pursuant to the FOIA, requested the following materials from Defendant's Cleveland District Director:

1) All materials related to interviews of prospective witnesses and/or employees of Plaintiff;

2) All documents related to the EEOC Commissioner's charge filed against Plaintiff;

3) The criteria used by the commission to identify potential respondents to a Commissioner's charge; and

4) Any other material relied upon to issue the Commissioner's charge against Plaintiff. (Affidavit of Nicolas M. Inzeo, Supervisory Attorney, Legal Counsel Division, Office of General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, doc. # 11 at 1) (Inzeo Affidavit).

Defendant's General Counsel responded by granting in part, denying in part, and neither granting nor denying in part Plaintiff's FOIA request. Plaintiff appealed the partial denial to the EEOC Chair, who denied the appeal on July 23, 1980. On August 11, 1980, Plaintiff filed this action seeking to enjoin Defendant from withholding the requested documents. Pursuant to this Court's Order of June 15, 1981 (doc. # 20), Defendant has submitted the withheld item for in camera inspection.

This ruling will refer to the claimed exemptions by subsection number or by number only. For example, the exemption provided for in 5 U.S.C.A. § 552(b)(5) will be referred to as (b)(5) or Exemption 5. The Court will refer to the documents at issue in this case by the number attached to each document by the Defendant in its Vaughn index. Items # 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and parts of 15 are at issue in these cross motions.

To preserve the secrecy of the disputed items for purposes of appellate review, the Court will refer to the items in general terms only.

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

In ruling on these cross motions for summary judgment, the Court follows the standard set forth in Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). This rule, in pertinent part, provides that "the judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings ... and ... affidavits ... show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In considering these motions, the court determines whether there are issues to be tried, but the Court cannot try disputed facts. See Felix v. Young, 536 F.2d 1126, 1130 (6th Cir.1976); DePlanche v. Califano, 549 F.Supp. 685, 687 (W.D.Mich.1982).

Even though both parties to this action, by moving for summary judgment, argue that no genuine issue of material fact exists, the Court still must review the materials appropriate for consideration under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) to determine whether a genuine issue as to a material fact exists, see Begnaud v. White, 170 F.2d 323, 327 (6th Cir.1948), and whether each party has carried its burden under the summary judgment standard. Failure by a party to carry its burden does not automatically mean that the opposing party has satisfied the summary judgment test, and is therefore, entitled to a judgment as a matter of law; rather, the Court applies Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) to each party's motion separately and independently. See 10 C. Wright, A. Miller, & M. Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2720, at 17-25 (2d ed. 1983).

In the present case, the Court considers whether documents, withheld by the Defendant, qualify for statutory exemptions to the general statutory rule of mandatory disclosure. In effect, the legal sufficiency of Defendant's claim to exemption as a matter of law comes before this Court. Absent a dispute over material facts which bear on the legal sufficiency of Defendant's exemption claims, no triable issue arises. Accordingly, the Court may enter judgment after determining whether or not one of the enumerated exemptions applies to the submitted documents. See Schwarzer, Judgment Under the Federal Rules: Defining Issues of Fact, 99 F.R.D. 465, 484 (1984). See generally McGehee v. CIA, 697 F.2d 1095, 1101-02 (D.C.Cir.1983) citing Founding Church of Scientology v. National Security Agency, 610 F.2d 824, 836 (D.C.Cir.1979).

B. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT STANDARDS

Before ruling on the pending motions, the Court articulates the following well-established principles applicable to interpreting the FOIA and followed by this Court in ruling on these cross motions for summary judgment:

1. The FOIA requires disclosure of requested material in the possession of federal agencies unless the requested material fits within one of the nine statutory exemptions. See N.L.R.B. v. Robbins Tire & Rubber Co., 437 U.S. 214, 221, 98 S.Ct. 2311, 2317, 57 L.Ed.2d 159 (1978); N.L.R.B. v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 421 U.S. 132, 136, 95 S.Ct. 1504, 1509, 44 L.Ed.2d 29 (1975); EPA v. Mink, 410 U.S. 73, 80, 93 S.Ct. 827, 833, 35 L.Ed.2d 119 (1973); VanBourg, Allen, Weinberg & Roger v. N.L.R.B., 728 F.2d 1270, 1272 (9th Cir.1984); Kiraly v. FBI, 728 F.2d 273, 276 (6th Cir.1984), cert. denied sub nom Kiraly v. Clark, ___ U.S. ___, 104 S.Ct. 2171, 80 L.Ed.2d 554 (1984); 5 U.S.C.A. § 552(a). The Act is, therefore, to be broadly construed in favor of disclosure. See Department of the Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. 352, 366, 96 S.Ct. 1592, 1601, 48 L.Ed.2d 11 citing Vaughn v. Rosen (Vaughn I), 484 F.2d 820, 823 (D.C.1973); New England Apple Council v. Donovan, 725 F.2d 139, 141 (1st Cir.1984); J.P. Stevens & Co., Inc. v. Perry, 710 F.2d 136, 139 (4th Cir.1983); Alirez v. N.L.R.B., 676 F.2d 423, 425 (10th Cir.1982). See also, N.L. R.B. v. Robbins Tire & Rubber Co., 437 U.S. at 220, 98 S.Ct. at 2316; E.P.A. v. Mink, 410 U.S. at 79-80, 93 S.Ct. at 832, 833 2. Congress did not intend the FOIA to function as a tool of discovery for private parties. See Baldrige v. Shapiro, 455 U.S. 345, 360, 102 S.Ct. 1103, 1112, 71 L.Ed.2d 199 (1982); N.L.R.B. v. Robbins, 437 U.S. at 242, 98 S.Ct. at 2327; Renegotiation Board v. Bannercraft Clothing Co., 415 U.S. 1, 24, 94 S.Ct. 1028, 1040, 39 L.Ed.2d 123 (1974); Parton v. United States Department of Justice, 727 F.2d 774, 777 (8th Cir.1984); DePlanche v. Califano, 549 F.Supp. 685, 693 (W.D.Mich.1982) citing N.L.R.B. v. Hardeman Garment Corporation, 557 F.2d 559 (6th Cir.1977). However, the Act makes material disclosable to any person regardless of need, purpose or status as a litigant. See N.L.R.B. v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 421 U.S. at 143, 95 S.Ct. at 1513; Parke, Davis & Co. v. Califano, 623 F.2d 1, 7 (6th Cir.1980); Hawkes v. Internal Revenue Service (Hawkes I), 467 F.2d 787, 792 (6th Cir.1972). See generally, 1 O'Reilly, Federal Information Disclosure, § 5.04 (1978 and 1983 Supp.).

3. The statutory exemptions must be narrowly construed in order to favor disclosure, the principal purpose of the FOIA. See Department of Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. at 361, 96 S.Ct. at 1599; Vaughn v. Rosen (Vaughn II), 523 F.2d 1136, 1422 (D.C.Cir.1975); New England Apple Council v. Donovan, 725 F.2d at 141; J.P. Stevens & Co., Inc. v. Perry, 710 F.2d at 139. Jenks v. United States Secret Service, 517 F.Supp. 307, 309 (D.C.Ohio 1981). See also Werner-Continental, Inc. v. Farkas, 478 F.Supp. 815, 816 (S.D.Ohio 1979) aff'd 661 F.2d 935 (6th Cir.1981) (Congressional policy behind FOIA is public access to government information). Courts may not balance equities in determining whether requested material must be disclosed. Instead, courts may consider only the concrete standards set forth in the exclusive nine exemptions. See E.P.A. v. Mink, 410 U.S. at 79, 93 S.Ct. at 832. See also 1 O'Reilly, supra, § 8.05.

4. The agency withholding disclosure bears the burden of establishing the exempt status of the requested material. See Federal Open Market Committee v. Merrill, 443 U.S. 340, 352, 99 S.Ct. 2800, 2808, 61 L.Ed.2d 587 (1979); VanBourg, Allen, Weinberg & Roger v. N.L.R.B., 728 F.2d at 1272; Kiraly v. F.B.I., 728 F.2d at 276; Lykins v. United States Department of Justice, 725 F.2d...