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Case TitleBLOOMGARDEN v. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2017cv02675
Date Filed2017-12-14
Date Closed2018-10-26
JudgeJudge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
PlaintiffHOWARD BLOOMGARDEN
Case DescriptionHoward Bloomgarden, a federal prisoner, submitted a FOIA request the National Archives and Records Administration for records concerning a 1986 letter pertaining to the termination of Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Granger. The agency identified three documents responsive to the request, but denied access under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Bloomgarden filed an administrative appeal. NARA upheld its original decision on appeal. Bloomgarden then filed suit.
Complaint issues: Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantNATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
AppealD.C. Circuit 18-5347
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
Opinion/Order [24]
FOIA Project Annotation: Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has ruled that the final termination letter for Raymond Granger, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York who was terminated in 1995, is protected in its entirely under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Howard Bloomgarden, who was convicted of murder charges in California in 2014, had previously requested records about Granger's termination with the hope that they might help him get a new trial. In earlier litigation that went up through the D.C. Circuit, Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle reviewed more than 3,600 pages from Granger's file and found that a draft termination letter prepared in Granger's case was protected by Exemption 6. This time, Bloomgarden requested Granger's records from the National Archives and Records Administration, which found three potentially responsive records, including the final termination letter, but decided to withhold them under Exemption 6 as well. This time around, Kollar-Kotelly found that disclosure of the historic records would still be an invasion of Granger's privacy. She agreed that "the public does have an interest in knowing how the agency or department in question dealt with the misconduct," but pointed out that "due to the two decades which have passed since Mr. Granger was terminated, the information contained in the requested letters will illuminate little about the current internal operations of the U.S. Attorney's Office." She observed that "here, the invasion of privacy resulting from the disclosure of the two letters would be clearly unwarranted. Mr. Granger maintains a strong privacy interest in the information contained in the termination letters. His interest is especially strong given his continued work in the legal field. In contrast, the public's interest in disclosure of the letters is relatively low. The letters related only to the two-decades old termination of a lower-level government attorney. The letters do not show systemic failures or a larger pattern of misconduct on the part of the U.S. Attorney's Office."
Issues: Exemption 6 - Invasion of privacy
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2017-12-141COMPLAINT against NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-5247923) filed by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Civil Cover Sheet, # 4 Summons)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 12/14/2017)
2017-12-14Case Assigned to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. (jd) (Entered: 12/15/2017)
2017-12-152SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(jd) (Entered: 12/15/2017)
2017-12-153ORDER ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 12/15/2017. (DM) (Entered: 12/15/2017)
2018-01-094RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 12/26/2017. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 1/25/2018. (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 01/09/2018)
2018-01-095RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION served on 12/28/2017 (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 01/09/2018)
2018-01-096RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 12/22/17. (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 01/09/2018)
2018-01-257NOTICE of Appearance by Marsha Wellknown Yee on behalf of NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (Yee, Marsha) (Entered: 01/25/2018)
2018-01-258ANSWER to 1 Complaint by NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION.(Yee, Marsha) Modified to add link on 1/26/2018 (znmw). (Entered: 01/25/2018)
2018-01-269ORDER. The parties shall file a Joint Status Report by no later than FEBRUARY 16, 2018. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 1/26/2018. (lcckk3) (Entered: 01/26/2018)
2018-01-26Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 2/16/2018. (dot) (Entered: 01/26/2018)
2018-02-1610Joint STATUS REPORT by NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Yee, Marsha) (Entered: 02/16/2018)
2018-02-1611SCHEDULING AND PROCEDURES ORDER. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 2/16/2018. (lcckk3) (Entered: 02/16/2018)
2018-02-20Set/Reset Deadlines: Cross Motion due by 4/20/2018. Response to Cross Motion due by 5/25/2018. Summary Judgment motion due by 3/13/2018. Response to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 4/20/208. Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 5/25/2018. (tb) (Entered: 02/20/2018)
2018-03-1312MOTION for Summary Judgment by NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts, # 2 Declaration Martha Wagner Murphy, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Yee, Marsha) (Entered: 03/13/2018)
2018-04-2013SEALED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL filed by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN (This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.) (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order, # 2 Statement of Facts, # 3 Memorandum in Support, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit, # 6 Exhibit, # 7 Exhibit)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 04/20/2018)
2018-04-2014MOTION for Summary Judgment by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 04/20/2018)
2018-05-2515REPLY to opposition to motion re 12 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. (Attachments: # 1 Responses to Pl.'s Additional Material Facts, # 2 Text of Proposed Order)(Yee, Marsha) (Entered: 05/25/2018)
2018-05-2516Memorandum in opposition to re 14 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. (Attachments: # 1 Responses to Pl.'s Additional Material Facts, # 2 Text of Proposed Order)(Yee, Marsha) (Entered: 05/25/2018)
2018-06-0817REPLY to opposition to motion re 14 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN. (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 06/08/2018)
2018-08-1418NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 08/14/2018)
2018-09-27MINUTE ORDER. The Court finds that in camera review of the documents relating to Plaintiff's FOIA request is necessary to make a responsible de novo determination on the claims of exemption. See Larson v. Dept of State, 565 F.3d 857, 869-70 (D.C. Cir. 2009). The Court ORDERS Defendant to present the two responsive letters from Plaintiff's FOIA request to the Court for in camera review. Defendant may furnish to the Court the letters ex parte and under seal for in camera review, or Defendant may contact the Court suggesting another method of delivering the letters for the Court's in camera review. Defendant is ORDERED to provide the Court with the two letters for in camera review by OCTOBER 4, 2018. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 09-27-2018. (lcckk3) (Entered: 09/27/2018)
2018-09-27Set/Reset Deadlines: Defendant's In-Camera Submission due by 10/4/2018. (kt) (Entered: 09/27/2018)
2018-10-0919SEALED ORDER re 13 SEALED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL filed by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN (This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.) filed by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN.(This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.)Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 10/9/18.(zdot) (Entered: 10/10/2018)
2018-10-1520SEALED ORDER That the Plaintiff to file a redacted copy of documents by October 19, 2018. See Order for details. (This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.)Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 10/15/18.(zdot) (Entered: 10/16/2018)
2018-10-1721Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Redacted Documents by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 10/17/2018)
2018-10-18MINUTE ORDER: The Court is in receipt of Plaintiff's 21 Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time. Plaintiff requests this extension of time due to a delay in receiving the Court's 19 Sealed Order. The Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion. Plaintiff is ORDERED to file the redacted documents by OCTOBER 24, 2018. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 10/18/2018. (lcckk3) (Entered: 10/18/2018)
2018-10-18Set/Reset Deadlines: Plaintiff is ORDERED to file the redacted documents by 10/24/2018. (dot) (Entered: 10/22/2018)
2018-10-2322NOTICE of Filing of Redacted Documents by HOWARD BLOOMGARDEN re Order on Motion for Extension of Time to File, (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Redacted documents, # 2 Exhibit Redacted documents, # 3 Memorandum in Support Redacted documents, # 4 Statement of Facts Redacted documents, # 5 Exhibit Redacted documents)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 10/23/2018)
2018-10-2623ORDER granting 12 Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 14 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 10/26/2018.(lcckk3) (Entered: 10/26/2018)
2018-10-2624MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 10/26/2018. (lcckk3) (Entered: 10/26/2018)
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