Oversight v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency

Summary

In this FOIA case, the D.C. Circuit held that American Oversight failed to prove the EPA maintained an unlawful policy or practice of refusing to process requests for communications records unless they included keywords or subject matters. The court granted summary judgment to the EPA, finding that the agency's responses were case-specific and based on individualized assessments of whether each request reasonably described the records sought. The decision clarifies that a plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating an ongoing policy that impairs future access to information, and that isolated or context-specific denials do not establish such a policy.

Holdings

1. The record does not support American Oversight's claim that the EPA has a policy or practice of categorically refusing to process requests for communications records unless they provide a keyword or subject matter. The EPA's responses were case-specific, and the EPA provided examples of processing requests without keywords. Therefore, the EPA is entitled to summary judgment on the policy-or-practice claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the EPA maintains a policy or practice of refusing to process FOIA requests for communications records that clearly identify custodians, recipients, and date ranges, on the grounds that they do not provide keywords, search terms, or a particular subject matter.
2. Whether either party is entitled to summary judgment on the policy-or-practice claim.

Disposition

other