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Case TitleWINN v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2017cv00833
Date Filed2017-05-05
Date Closed2019-02-06
JudgeJudge John D. Bates
PlaintiffH. RICHARD WINN
Case DescriptionRichard Winn submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records about himself. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and indicated that it had located 4000 pages of potentially responsive records. Winn told the agency he would like to receive the records on CD and would pay up to $115 in fees. The agency then told Winn that his request fell within the unusual circumstances exception and would be placed in the agency's backlog for processing. Winn submitted another request for records on himself and asked for a fee waiver since he planned to write a memoir of his career. The agency acknowledged that request as well, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Winn filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
Opinion/Order [24]
FOIA Project Annotation: Judge John Bates has ruled that the FBI properly limited its response to FOIA requests from Richard Winn, a neurosurgeon who served as chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine from 1983 to 2002 and who pled guilty to obstructing the FBI's investigation into possible Medicare and Medicaid fraud for medical services performed by the department's faculty, to records about Winn himself, even though Winn subsequently asked the agency to expand the scope of his request to encompass the entire investigation and not just his role in it. Winn made his first FOIA request to the FBI in 2015 to obtain records about himself to use in writing his memoirs. He suggested several possible locations and provided Form DOJ-361 certifying his identity. Four months later, the FBI told Winn that it had located 4,000 potentially responsive pages and that its response would be delayed because of the volume and the need to consult with field offices. After eight months without hearing from the agency, Winn submitted a second FOIA request for his FBI records but added that he was "seeking any and all files related to the investigation of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA. . .beginning in 1990" and explained that he had "made the same request" one year prior. Still not having heard from the agency a year later, Winn submitted a third request requesting his records and again emphasizing his interest in records pertaining to the FBI's investigation of the University of Washington School of Medicine. Two months later, Winn filed suit. The FBI searched for records and located its investigative file pertaining to the School of Medicine investigation. The file pertained to the agency's investigation of Winn but also included information about other suspects in the investigation. The FBI only processed 915 records about Winn. The agency disclosed 691 records in full or in part and withheld 296 pages in full under Exemption 3 (other statutes), Exemption 7 (law enforcement records) and Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Winn did not challenge the agency's search or its exemption claims but argued that he had requested the entire investigative file and that the agency had improperly narrowed his request by processing only those records pertaining to him. Alternatively, he contended that the agency had failed to release all reasonably segregable non-exempt information. Winn argued that "although his first FOIA request in March 2015 only described 'his own FBI files,'. . .he later clarified in his subsequent two FOIA requests that he was requesting all files relating to the University of Washington School of Medicine investigation" and that his counsel told DOJ in November 2017 and January 2018 that Winn's requests were for all of the investigative records. Indicating that agencies were required to interpret FOIA request liberally, Bates pointed out that "here, Winn's requests were clear: he sought his 'own FBI files.' In his initial request, Winn never mentioned the University of Washington investigation and stated only that he sought his own files. Then, in 2016, he asserted that he was making 'the same request' as he had the prior year." Pointing out that Winn had included the FBI's form for certifying his identity, which, Bates observed, "suggested that he was seeking only his own records." Bates noted that "although he stated in his 2016 and 2017 requests that he was 'seeking any and all files related to the investigation of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA,' he first asserted the he was seeking just his own files. Hence, Winn only 'reasonably described' his own records, and clarified that he particularly sought his records relating to the investigation." Bates observed that "that Winn eventually informed the FBI that he actually intended to seek all records relating to the investigation, including those that do not pertain to him, does not change the scope of his requests. He only told the DOJ that he wanted the full investigative file after the FBI had searched for records responsive to his original requests and had begun to produce documents." Winn argued that the FBI failed to consider the segregability of the file by processing only those records mentioning Winn. Bates found Winn's real challenge here was to the adequacy of the agency's search, not to the segregibility of records. He pointed out that Winn "appears to challenge only the FBI's failure to review and release non-responsive records from the investigative file. But the FBI was not required to search for, process, or release records that were not responsive to Winn's request."
Issues: Request - Specificity
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2017-05-051COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-4941718) filed by H. RICHARD WINN. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons, # 3 Summons, # 4 Summons)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 05/05/2017)
2017-05-05Case Assigned to Judge John D. Bates. (jd) (Entered: 05/08/2017)
2017-05-082SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Consent Forms)(jd) (Entered: 05/08/2017)
2017-05-303RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 5/15/2017. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 6/14/2017. (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 05/30/2017)
2017-05-304RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 05/15/2017. (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 05/30/2017)
2017-05-305RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE served on 5/15/2017 (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 05/30/2017)
2017-06-166NOTICE of Appearance by Joshua M. Kolsky on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 06/16/2017)
2017-06-167Unopposed MOTION to set Due Date for Answer (and Notice Regarding Service of Complaint) by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 06/16/2017)
2017-06-16MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 7 defendant's unopposed motion to set due date to respond to the complaint, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that defendant shall file its response to plaintiff's complaint by not later than July 17, 2017. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 6/16/2017. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 06/16/2017)
2017-06-16Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer due by 7/17/2017. (zb) (Entered: 06/16/2017)
2017-07-178ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.(Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 07/17/2017)
2017-07-189ORDER directing parties to confer and to submit a proposed briefing schedule for the filing of dispositive motions by not later than August 18, 2017. See text of order for details. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 7/18/2017. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 07/18/2017)
2017-07-19Set/Reset Deadlines: Proposed Briefing Schedule for dispositive motions due by 8/18/2017. (tb) (Entered: 07/19/2017)
2017-08-1810Joint STATUS REPORT and Proposed Schedule by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 08/18/2017)
2017-08-18MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 10 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file further joint status reports by not later than October 4, 2017 and November 14, 2017, and, if necessary, propose a briefing schedule on remaining issues. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 8/18/2017. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 08/18/2017)
2017-08-21Set/Reset Deadlines: The parties shall file further Joint Status Reports by 10/4/2017 and 11/14/2017, and, if necessary, propose a briefing schedule on remaining issues. (jth) (Entered: 08/21/2017)
2017-10-0411Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 10/04/2017)
2017-11-1412Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 11/14/2017)
2017-11-15MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 12 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report by not later than January 5, 2018, and, if necessary, propose a briefing schedule on remaining issues. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 11/15/2017. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 11/15/2017)
2017-11-16Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 1/5/2018. (tb) (Entered: 11/16/2017)
2018-01-0513Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 01/05/2018)
2018-01-08MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 13 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report by not later than February 5, 2018, and, if necessary, propose a briefing schedule on remaining issues. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 1/8/2018. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 01/08/2018)
2018-01-08Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 2/5/2018. (gdf) (Entered: 01/08/2018)
2018-02-0514Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 02/05/2018)
2018-02-06MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 14 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED as follows: the government's motion for summary judgment shall be filed by not later than April 23, 2018; plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition to the government's motion for summary judgment shall be filed by not later than May 23, 2018; the government's reply in support of motion for summary judgment and opposition to plaintiff's cross-motion shall be filed by not later than June 13, 2018; and plaintiff's reply in support of cross-motion for summary judgment shall be filed by not later than July 6, 2018. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 2/6/2018. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 02/06/2018)
2018-02-07Set/Reset Deadlines: Cross Motion due by 5/23/2018. Response to Cross Motion due by 6/13/2018. Reply to Cross Motion due by 7/6/2018. Summary Judgment motion due by 4/23/2018. Response to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 5/23/2018. Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 6/13/2018. (tb) (Entered: 02/07/2018)
2018-04-2315MOTION for Summary Judgment by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order, # 2 Declaration, # 3 Exhibit (Part 1), # 4 Exhibit (Part 2), # 5 Exhibit (Part 3))(Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 04/23/2018)
2018-05-2316Cross MOTION for Summary Judgment by H. RICHARD WINN (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Statement of Facts, # 3 Declaration, # 4 Text of Proposed Order)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 05/23/2018)
2018-05-2317Memorandum in opposition to re 15 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by H. RICHARD WINN. (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts, # 2 Declaration, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 05/23/2018)
2018-06-0718Unopposed MOTION for Extension of Time to File Summary Judgment Briefs by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 06/07/2018)
2018-06-08MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 18 defendant's unopposed motion for extension of time to file its summary judgment reply and opposition, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED as follows: the government's reply in support of motion for summary judgment and opposition to plaintiff's cross-motion shall be filed by not later than July 13, 2018; and plaintiff's reply in support of cross-motion for summary judgment shall be filed by not later than August 6, 2018. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 06/08/2018. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 06/08/2018)
2018-06-11Set/Reset Deadlines: Defendant's Reply to Cross Motion due by 8/6/2018. Plaintiff's Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 7/13/2018. (tb) (Entered: 06/11/2018)
2018-07-1319Memorandum in opposition to re 16 Cross MOTION for Summary Judgment and Reply in Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment filed by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration (Supplemental Hardy Declaration))(Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 07/13/2018)
2018-07-1320REPLY to opposition to motion re 15 MOTION for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment filed by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration (Supplemental Hardy Declaration))(Kolsky, Joshua) (Entered: 07/13/2018)
2018-08-0621REPLY to opposition to motion re 16 Cross MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by H. RICHARD WINN. (Hodes, Scott) (Entered: 08/06/2018)
2018-12-1822NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Paul Cirino on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Substituting for attorney Joshua M. Kolsky (Cirino, Paul) (Entered: 12/18/2018)
2019-02-0623ORDER granting 15 defendant's motion for summary judgment and denying 16 plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment. See text of Order and accompanying memorandum opinion issued on this date for details. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 02/06/2019. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 02/06/2019)
2019-02-0624MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 02/06/2019. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 02/06/2019)
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