Public Citizen, Inc. v. Rubber Manufacturers Ass'n

• Decision Date: 22 July 2008
• Docket Number: No. 06-5304.,06-5304.
• Citation: 533 F.3d 810
• Parties: PUBLIC CITIZEN, INC., Appellee v. RUBBER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, Appellant Mary E. Peters, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

533 F.3d 810

PUBLIC CITIZEN, INC., Appellee v. RUBBER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, Appellant Mary E. Peters, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Appellee.

No. 06-5304.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued October 15, 2007.

Decided July 22, 2008.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 04cv00463).

Eugene Scalia argued the cause for the appellant. With him on the briefs was Laurie T. Baulig.

Scott L. Nelson argued the cause for appellee Public Citizen, Inc. With him on the brief was David Arkush.

Jane M. Lyons, Assistant U.S. Attorney, argued the cause for the federal appellee. With her on the brief were Jeffrey A. Taylor, U.S. Attorney, R. Craig Lawrence, Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Lloyd S. Guerci, Assistant Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Before: RANDOLPH and GARLAND, Circuit Judges, and EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GARLAND.

GARLAND, Circuit Judge:

A provision of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act limits the disclosure, "pursuant to section 30167(b)" of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, of certain early warning reporting data. Appellant Rubber Manufacturers Association contends that the limits imposed by the TREAD Act apply not only to disclosures made "pursuant to section 30167(b)," but also to disclosures made in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The Secretary of Transportation, appellee Public Citizen, Inc., and the district court all disagree with the Rubber Manufacturers Association. We do as well. Concluding that the plain language of the TREAD Act means what it says, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (the Safety Act) requires manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to submit certain information to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in order "to reduce traffic accidents and deaths and injuries resulting from traffic accidents." 49 U.S.C. § 30101. In November 2000, Congress enacted the TREAD Act, Pub.L. No. 106-414, 114 Stat. 1800 (2000), which amended the Safety Act and directed the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate a regulation expanding the scope of the information that manufacturers are required to submit to NHTSA. This additional information, which the statute refers to as "early warning reporting" (EWR) data, is information that may assist the agency in identifying safety defects in motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. See 49 U.S.C. § 30166(m)(3)(B). NHTSA published the regulation called for by the TREAD Act on July 10, 2002. Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects, 67 Fed.Reg. 45,822-01 (July 10, 2002) (relevant provisions codified at 49 C.F.R. §§ 579.5, 579.21-.26). For tire manufacturers, the rule requires the reporting of, inter alia, information regarding property damage claims, warranty adjustments, and claims that a defect in the manufacturer's tires caused injury or death. 49 C.F.R. § 579.26.

In addition to increasing the flow of industry information to the agency, the TREAD Act contains a provision regarding disclosure of EWR data. Section 30166(m)(4)(C), which is entitled "Disclosure," provides that "[n]one of the information collected pursuant to the final [EWR rule] shall be disclosed pursuant to section 30167(b) unless the Secretary determines" that disclosure will assist in carrying out specified provisions of the Safety Act. 49 U.S.C. § 30166(m)(4)(C) (emphasis added). Section 30167(b), referenced in the quoted provision, is a section of the Safety Act that requires the Secretary to "disclose information obtained under this chapter related to a defect or noncompliance that the Secretary decides will assist in carrying out" the same provisions of the Safety Act specified in § 30166(m)(4)(c). Section 30167(b) expressly states that its disclosure requirements are "in addition to the requirements of section 552 of title 5," which is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 49 U.S.C. § 30167(b).

In April 2002, NHTSA initiated a rulemaking to address the treatment of EWR data under the agency's Confidential Business Information (CBI) Rule, 49 C.F.R. pt. 512. Confidential Business Information, 67 Fed.Reg. 21,198 (Apr. 30, 2002). That rule sets forth the procedures and standards by which NHTSA considers claims that information submitted to the agency is entitled to confidential treatment under FOIA. See 49 C.F.R. § 512.1.

On July 28, 2003, NHTSA issued a Final CBI Rule, which accepted the position of the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) that certain categories of EWR data, the disclosure of which would cause substantial competitive harm, are protected from public disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4. See Confidential Business Information, 68 Fed.Reg. 44,209, 44,211 (July 28, 2003) (Final CBI Rule).¹ Exemption 4 provides that FOIA's disclosure requirements do not apply to matters that are "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4).

The Final CBI Rule rejected, however, RMA's suggestion that § 30166(m)(4)(C) is a withholding statute that renders all EWR data protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 3 "unless the Secretary determines the disclosure of such information will assist in carrying out" the specified provisions of the Safety Act. Final CBI Rule, 68 Fed.Reg. at 44,217-18 (quoting 49 U.S.C. § 30166(m)(4)(C)). Exemption 3 provides that FOIA's disclosure requirements do not apply to matters that are "specifically exempted from disclosure by statute[,] ... provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3).

Public Citizen and RMA each petitioned for reconsideration. The former challenged the agency's conclusion that entire categories of EWR data are protected from disclosure under Exemption 4; the latter challenged the decision not to treat all EWR data as protected from disclosure pursuant to Exemption 3. On April 21, 2004, NHTSA denied both petitions. See Confidential Business Information, 69 Fed. Reg. 21,409-01, 21,410-11, 21,419-23 (Apr. 21, 2004).

Public Citizen then filed suit in district court alleging that NHTSA's promulgation of the Final CBI Rule violated the notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 553, and challenging the agency's decision that FOIA Exemption 4 applies to entire categories of EWR data. See Public Citizen, Inc. v. Mineta, 427 F.Supp.2d 7 (D.D.C.2006). RMA intervened to defend the Exemption 4 decision, and it filed a cross-claim against the Secretary of Transportation challenging the decision that § 30166(m)(4)(C) is not an Exemption 3 withholding statute.

On March 31, 2006, the district court held that NHTSA was authorized to make categorical determinations regarding the confidentiality of EWR data. Id. at 13-14. But it also found that the agency had failed to provide adequate notice and opportunity to comment as required by the APA. Id. at 16-17. The court remanded the rule to the agency without reaching the parties' other claims, including RMA's cross-claim that § 30166(m)(4)(C) is a withholding statute for purposes of FOIA Exemption 3. Id. at 17. RMA then filed a motion to alter or amend the judgment, asking the court to address its Exemption 3 cross-claim.

On July 31, 2006, the district court granted RMA's motion to alter or amend, but ruled against RMA on the merits. The court upheld NHTSA's decision that § 30166(m)(4)(C) is not an Exemption 3 statute. It did so on the ground that the section neither "`establishes particular criteria for withholding'" nor "`refers to particular types of matters to be withheld.'" Public Citizen, Inc. v. Mineta, 444 F.Supp.2d 12, 16-18 (D.D.C.2006) (quoting 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3)). Determining that there was "no just reason for delay," the court entered a final judgment on RMA's cross-claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). RMA now appeals the district court's holding that § 30166(m)(4)(C) is not an Exemption 3 withholding statute. That is the only issue before this court.

II

With specific exceptions, the Freedom of Information Act requires Executive Branch agencies to make their records available "to any person" upon request. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A). FOIA was intended "to provide for open disclosure of public information," Baldrige v. Shapiro, 455 U.S. 345, 352, 102 S.Ct. 1103, 71 L.Ed.2d 199 (1982), and it has long been understood to create a "strong presumption in favor of disclosure," United States Dep't of State v. Ray, 502 U.S. 164, 173, 112 S.Ct. 541, 116 L.Ed.2d 526 (1991). "Although Congress enumerated nine exemptions from the disclosure requirement, `these limited exemptions do not obscure the basic policy that disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of the Act.'" National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Norton, 309 F.3d 26, 32 (D.C.Cir.2002) (quoting Department of the Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. 352, 361, 96 S.Ct. 1592, 48 L.Ed.2d 11 (1976)). Accordingly, FOIA's exemptions are to be narrowly construed. Id.

As noted in Part I, FOIA Exemption 3 permits the government to withhold information "specifically exempted from disclosure by statute[,] ... provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3). A statute need only satisfy one of these disjunctive conditions to qualify as an Exemption 3 statu...