Case Detail

FOIA Project Annotation: A federal court in Oregon has ruled that the Bonneville Power Administration, which is overseen by the Department of Energy, properly withheld records from Jerome Berryhill concerning the agency's decision to trim trees on his property, which included an easement for use by the agency, because they were privileged under Exemption 5 (privileges). BPA maintained two sets of 115-volt transmission wires that crossed Berryhill's property. Under the terms of the easement, BPA is authorized to perform maintenance on the property to prevent vegetation and other objects from interfering with the transmission lines. BPA informed Berryhill that trees on his property had grown too tall and needed trimming. Berryhill initially disputed whether the trees the agency wanted to trim were actually part of the easement. As a result, the agency had a survey conducted and permanently marked the boundaries of the easement. Although Berryhill and BPA officials met to discuss the trimming project, Berryhill disagreed with the agency's plan. After hearing nothing further from Berryhill, BPA went ahead and trimmed the trees. Berryhill then submitted a FOIA request for records concerning his property. BPA located 453 pages of responsive records and redacted 28 pages. Berryhill filed an administrative appeal. The agency upheld the redactions under Exemption 5 and Berryhill filed suit. The found that the redactions were appropriate under the deliberative proves privilege and the attorney-client privilege. Berryhill argued that the agency trimmed the trees as a way to retaliate against him for disagreeing with its plans. But the court pointed out that "on their own, these allegations are insufficient to warrant disclosure of privileged information. Berryhill must produce more than just 'unsubstantiated assertions of Government wrongdoing' to establish a meaningful evidentiary showing, and he has not done so here."
Issues: Exemption 5 - Privileges - Deliberative process privilege - Deliberative

Date Filed	Doc #	Docket Text
2019-12-10	1	Complaint. Filing fee in the amount of $400 collected. Agency Tracking ID: 0979-6115527 Jury Trial Requested: No. Filed by Jerome Boyd Berryhill against Bonneville Power Administration. (Witte, Ann) (Entered: 12/10/2019)
2019-12-10	2	Proposed Summons Filed by Jerome Boyd Berryhill. (Witte, Ann) (Entered: 12/10/2019)
2019-12-10	3	Notice of Case Assignment to Judge Anna J. Brown and Discovery and Pretrial Scheduling Order. NOTICE: Counsel shall print and serve the summonses and all documents issued by the Clerk at the time of filing upon all named parties in accordance with Local Rule 3-5 . Discovery is to be completed by 4/8/2020. Joint Alternate Dispute Resolution Report is due by 5/8/2020. Pretrial Order is due by 5/8/2020. Ordered by Judge Anna J. Brown. (ecp) (Entered: 12/10/2019)
2019-12-10	4	Summons Issued Electronically as to Bonneville Power Administration. NOTICE: Counsel shall print and serve the summonses and all documents issued by the Clerk at the time of filing upon all named parties in accordance with Local Rule 3-5. (ecp) (Entered: 12/10/2019)
2019-12-10	5	Civil Cover Sheet regarding Complaint 1 . Filed by Jerome Boyd Berryhill. (Witte, Ann) (Entered: 12/10/2019)
2019-12-11	6	Notice of Case Reassignment: This case has been reassigned from Judge Anna J. Brown to Judge Karin J. Immergut. (eo) (Entered: 12/11/2019)
2020-01-21	9	Answer to 1 Complaint . Filed by Bonneville Power Administration. (Danielson, Kevin) (Entered: 01/21/2020)
2020-02-25	10	Individual Party Consent to Jurisdiction by U.S. Magistrate Judge. (Entered: 02/25/2020)
2020-03-05	11	Full Consent by all Parties to Jurisdiction by US Magistrate Judge. (jy) (Entered: 03/05/2020)
2020-03-05	12	Notice of Case Reassignment: This case has been reassigned from Judge Karin J. Immergut to Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. (eo) (Entered: 03/05/2020)
2020-04-29	13	SCHEDULING ORDER: At the request of Plaintiff, SETTING a Discovery Hearing and a Rule 16 Conference for Monday, May 4, 2020, at 10:00 AM by telephone. The parties shall call into the court's conference line (phone number to be provided via separate sealed entry) five minutes before the scheduled conference time. The court will join the conference call at the appointed time. Local Rules 16-2(b) and 26-1 require that counsel confer before the conference. At the conference, counsel should be prepared to discuss the status of the case, relevant dates and deadlines, and any other significant issues. If the parties plan to present a proposed schedule, they should e-mail the schedule to giselle_williams@ord.uscourts.gov, by noon on May 1, 2020. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. (gw) (Entered: 04/29/2020)
2020-05-04	14	MINUTES of Proceedings: Discovery Hearing and Rule 16 Conference held by telephone before Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman on 5/4/2020. ORDER denying Plaintiff's request to compel a deposition of Carlos Mora Flores, with leave to renew after Defendant files its motion for summary judgment. Defendant's motion for summary judgment is due by 9/4/2020. Plaintiff's response and cross-motion for summary judgment due by 9/25/2020. Defendant's reply in support of summary judgment and response to Plaintiff's cross-motion due by 10/16/2020. Plaintiff's reply in support of summary judgment is due by 11/6/2020. ORDER striking Pretrial Order deadline. The parties are advised that a telephone conference must be scheduled with Judge Beckerman before any discovery motion is filed. Ann B. Witte present as counsel for plaintiff. Kevin C. Danielson present as counsel for defendant. Court Reporter: Ryan White, (503) 326-8184. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman presiding. (gw) (Entered: 05/04/2020)
2020-09-04	15	Motion for Summary Judgment . Filed by Bonneville Power Administration. (Danielson, Kevin) (Entered: 09/04/2020)
2020-09-04	16	Declaration of Candice Palen . Filed by Bonneville Power Administration. (Related document(s): Motion for Summary Judgment 15 .) (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3) (Danielson, Kevin) (Entered: 09/04/2020)
2020-09-22	17	Memorandum in Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment 15 oral argument requested. Filed by Jerome Boyd Berryhill. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit TABLE, # 2 Exhibit SPREADSHEET) (Witte, Ann) (Entered: 09/22/2020)
2020-09-22	18	Brief Declaration of Plaintiff . Filed by Jerome Boyd Berryhill. (Related document(s): Memorandum in Opposition 17 .) (Attachments: # 1 Attachment Wife's declaration, # 2 Attachment Witte Declaration) (Witte, Ann) (Entered: 09/22/2020)
2020-10-16	19	Reply in Support of to Motion for Summary Judgment 15 . Filed by All Defendants. (Danielson, Kevin) (Entered: 10/16/2020)
2020-10-17	21	Final Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment 15 Oral Argument requested. Filed by Jerome Boyd Berryhill. (Witte, Ann) (Entered: 10/17/2020)
2020-10-17	21	Final Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment 15 Oral Argument requested. Filed by Jerome Boyd Berryhill. (Witte, Ann) (Entered: 10/17/2020)
2020-10-21	22	ORDER: The Clerk is directed to strike ECF No. 20 , as it was mistakenly filed by Plaintiff as a duplicate of ECF No. 19 , Defendant's Reply in Support of the Motion for Summary Judgment. Ordered on 10/21/2020 by Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. (gw) (Entered: 10/21/2020)
2020-11-20	23	SCHEDULING ORDER: At the request of Plaintiff, SETTING a Discovery Hearing regarding documents submitted for in camera review, for Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 09:30 AM in Portland by telephone before Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. Conference call information to follow by separate sealed entry. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. (gw) (Entered: 11/20/2020)
2020-12-02	24	MINUTES of Proceedings: Discovery Hearing held by telephone before Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman on 12/2/2020. Ann B. Witte present as counsel for plaintiff. Kevin C. Danielson present as counsel for defendant. Court Reporter: Ryan White, (503) 326-8184. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman presiding. (gw) (Entered: 12/02/2020)
2020-12-23	25	OPINION AND ORDER: For the reasons stated, the Court GRANTS BPA's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 15 ). DATED this 23rd day of December, 2020, by United States Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. (pjg) (Entered: 12/23/2020)
2020-12-23	26	JUDGMENT: Based on the Court's OPINION AND ORDER, IT IS ADJUDGED that this case is DISMISSED with prejudice. DATED this 23rd day of December, 2020, by United States Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman. (pjg) (Entered: 12/23/2020)
Hide Docket Events