Stephen Aguiar v. Drug Enforcement Administration

Summary

The D.C. Circuit held that the DEA was not required under FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(B), to create map images from GPS coordinate data because doing so would constitute creating new records rather than reproducing an existing record in a requested form or format. The court rejected the argument that maps are merely another "form or format" of the coordinate data, emphasizing that FOIA only obligates agencies to disclose records they have created and retained, not to generate new records or organize information for the requestor's convenience. The court also affirmed the district court's denial of leave to file a supplemental complaint raising Privacy Act claims, finding those claims futile. Key topics: FOIA's "form or format" requirement, creation of new records, GPS tracking data, agency record obligations.

Holdings

1. FOIA does not obligate an agency to create new records. The requested map images are new records, not a different form or format of the existing coordinate data, because the agency never created or retained such maps and producing them would require editorial judgment.
2. The district court properly denied the motion as futile because the proposed claims were not cognizable under the Privacy Act or related to any cognizable civil-rights claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Drug Enforcement Administration was required under FOIA to create map images based on GPS coordinate data from a tracking device in response to the appellant's request for the data in map form.
2. Whether the district court abused its discretion in denying appellant's motion for leave to file a supplemental complaint.

Disposition

affirmed