Multi Ag Media LLC v. Department of Agriculture

• Decision Date: 15 February 2008
• Docket Number: No. 06-5231.,06-5231.
• Citation: 515 F.3d 1224
• Parties: MULTI AG MEDIA LLC, Appellant v. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

515 F.3d 1224

MULTI AG MEDIA LLC, Appellant v. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Appellee.

No. 06-5231.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued September 24, 2007.

Decided February 15, 2008.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 05cv01908).

James D. Miller argued the cause for appellant. With him on the briefs was Lance V. Oliver.

Alan Burch, Assistant U.S. Attorney, argued the cause for appellee. On the briefs were Jeffrey A. Taylor, U.S. Attorney, and R. Craig Lawrence and Megan L. Rose, Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

Before: SENTELLE, Chief Judge, and TATEL and GRIFFITH, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GRIFFITH.

Dissenting opinion filed by Chief Judge SENTELLE.

GRIFFITH, Circuit Judge:

Under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), "an agency must disclose all' records requested by `any person,' 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3), unless the information sought falls within a specific statutory exemption. 5 U.S.C. § 552(d)." Nat'l Ass'n of Retired Fed. Employees v. Horner, 879 F.2d 873, 874 (D.C.Cir.1989). Multi Ag Media LLC ("Multi Ag"), a commercial vendor of agricultural data, has made FOIA requests for various records of farm data maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA"). Invoking FOIA Exemption 6, which protects individual privacy interests in government records, USDA has withheld some of the requested information. Because there is a significant public interest in disclosure that outweighs the personal privacy interest USDA seeks to protect, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of USDA.

I.

Within USDA, the Farm Service Agency ("FSA") is the principal agency charged with promoting a stable and abundant American food supply. FSA meets this responsibility, in part, by offering subsidies and other financial assistance to farms. To qualify for FSA's benefits, farmers must submit information about their operations to a local FSA office. The information includes data on each farm's agricultural practices, acreage, soil, crops, livestock, and geographical location.

On July 13, 2005, Multi Ag submitted a FOIA request to USDA seeking release of thirteen databases maintained by FSA relevant to its agricultural subsidy and benefit programs. FSA processed the request and released some information, but withheld other information on the ground that it contained private information about individual farmers protected by FOIA Exemption 6. Pressing its claim for the withheld information, Multi Ag exhausted its administrative appeals within USDA without success, then filed suit in the district court. The district court sided with Multi Ag in ordering the disclosure of requested information in two of the files, but also partly granted USDA's motion for summary judgment and allowed the agency to withhold information in two other files, the Compliance File and the Geographic Information System ("GIS") database. Multi AG Media LLC v. USDA, No. 05-01908, 2006 WL 2320941, at *5-7 (D.D.C.2006). Multi Ag appeals that decision.¹ The Compliance File is a massive database with information on crops and field acreage for hundreds of thousands of individual farms across the country. It contains crop data that agricultural producers report to FSA to establish their eligibility for the government's subsidy and benefit programs. In response to Multi Ag's FOIA request, USDA withheld information on irrigation practices, farm acreage, and the number and width of rows of tobacco and cotton. The district court concluded that this information was protected by FOIA Exemption 6 because its disclosure "would reveal financial information associated with an individual . . . without shedding any light on the government's activities." Id. at *5.

The GIS database provides farm data on a digitized aerial photograph. USDA uses GIS as part of a system that combines Global Positioning System technology and aerial photographs to calculate acreage, identify crop types, and create maps of farmland. The GIS database helps FSA, verify farm features and thereby monitor compliance with regulations governing farm benefits. It also provides more specific information regarding the location of farms than do FSA's other files, which provide only general state and county location information. Declaration of Robin Wieland, ¶ 61 (February 15, 2006) ("Wieland Declaration") (stating that the GIS database provides a "specific geographic reference"). USDA released much of the GIS database to Multi Ag, but withheld information on farm, tract, and boundary identification, calculated acreage, and characteristics of the land such as whether it is erodible, barren, or has water or perennial snow cover. The district court concluded that because this information reveals details of land ownership, its disclosure would compromise a substantial privacy interest, but that disclosure would serve no public interest because the information would not "reveal anything about what the government is up to." Multi AG Media LLC, 2006 WL 2320941, at *6-7.

USDA argues on appeal that disclosure of the Compliance File and the GIS database would compromise farmers' privacy interests and that these files are properly withheld under FOIA Exemption 6. Multi Ag contends that disclosure of the files would not reveal anything personal about individual farmers and would advance a significant public interest by shedding light on USDA's administration of its subsidy and benefit programs.

II.

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Judicial Watch, Inc. v. FDA, 449 F.3d 141, 145 (D.C.Cir.2006). "In the FOIA context this requires that we ascertain whether the agency has sustained its burden of demonstrating the documents requested are . . . exempt from disclosure under the FOIA." Gallant v. NLRB, 26 F.3d 168, 171 (D.C.Cir.1994); see also 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) (stating that "the burden is on the agency to sustain its action"). An agency may sustain its burden by means of affidavits, but only "if they contain reasonable specificity of detail rather than merely conclusory statements, and if they are not called into question by contradictory evidence in the record or by evidence of agency bad faith." Gallant, 26 F.3d at 171 (quoting Halperin v. CIA, 629 F.2d 144, 148 (D.C.Cir.1980)).

FOIA's basic purpose reflects "`a general philosophy of full agency disclosure unless information is exempted under clearly delineated statutory language.'" Dep't of Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. 352, 360-61, 96 S.Ct. 1592, 48 L.Ed.2d 11 (1976) (quoting S. Rep. 89-813, at 3 (1965)). "At all times, courts must bear in mind that FOIA mandates a `strong presumption in favor of disclosure.'" Nat'l Ass'n of Home Builders v. Norton, 309 F.3d 26, 32 (D.C.Cir.2002) (quoting U.S. Dep't of State v. Ray, 502 U.S. 164, 173, 112 S.Ct. 541, 116 L.Ed.2d 526 (1991)). FOIA's exemptions "do not obscure the basic policy that disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of the Act." Rose, 425 U.S. at 361, 96 S.Ct. 1592. For that reason, they "must be narrowly construed." Id. And there is nothing about invoking Exemption 6 that lightens the agency's burden. In fact, "under. Exemption 6, the presumption in favor of disclosure is as strong as can be found anywhere in the Act." Norton, 309 F.3d at 32 (citing Wash. Post Co. v. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 690 F.2d 252, 261 (D.C.Cir. 1982)).

III.

FOIA Exemption 6 allows an agency to withhold "personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). We must pursue two lines of inquiry to determine whether USDA has sustained its burden to show that the information Multi Ag seeks is properly withheld under this exemption. First, we must determine whether the Compliance File and the GIS database are personnel, medical, or "similar" files covered by Exemption 6. If so, we must then determine whether their disclosure "would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." Id. This second inquiry requires us to balance the privacy interest that would be compromised by disclosure against any public interest in the requested information. U.S. Dep't of Def. v. FLRA, 510 U.S. 487, 497, 114 S.Ct. 1006, 127 L.Ed.2d 325 (1994); Nat'l Ass'n of Retired Fed. Employees v. Horner, 879 F.2d 873, 874 (D.C.Cir.1989).

"Similar Files"

The district court concluded that the Compliance File and the GIS database are "similar files" within Exemption 6, and even though the parties on appeal do not contest this point, we think it merits some explanation why business records such as these are covered by Exemption 6. In National Parks and Conservation Ass'n v. Kleppe, we reversed the district court's ruling that FOIA Exemption 4, which protects "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential," 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), could be used to lawfully withhold business records on grounds of individual privacy. 547 F.2d 673, 686 (D.C.Cir.1976). We explained that personal privacy interests are not "a relevant concern under the fourth exemption," but are under Exemption 6. Id. at 685-86. Although Exemption 6 "has not been extended to protect the privacy interests of businesses or corporations," id. at 685 n. 44, we pointed out that "personal or `personalized' financial information" contained in the records of "individually-owned businesses" that "necessarily reveal[s] at least a portion of the owner's personal finances," may well qualify for protection under Exemption 6. Id. at 685.

What we said in Kleppe about Exemption 6 was correct and we apply it here. In United States Department of State v. Washington Post Co., the Supreme Court explained that "Congress' primary purpose in enacting Exemption 6 was to protect individuals from the injury and embarrassment that can result from the...