Opinion ID: 774052
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Adequacy of Searches for Responsive Documents

Text: 23 Rugiero next claims that the district court erred in not evaluating the adequacy of the searches conducted in response to his FOIA requests. His brief focuses on the searches conducted by the IRS, USSS, and DOJ Tax, all of which found no documents responsive to his request. 24 In response to a FOIA request, an agency must make a good faith effort to conduct a search for the requested records using methods reasonably expected to produce the requested information. Campbell v. United States Dep't of Justice, 164 F.3d 20, 27 (D.C. Cir. 1998). The FOIA requires a reasonable search tailored to the nature of the request. Id. at 28. At all times the burden is on the agency to establish the adequacy of its search. Patterson v. IRS, 56 F.3d 832, 840 (7th Cir. 1995);Steinberg v. United States Dep't of Justice, 23 F.3d 548, 551 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (quoting Weisberg v. Dep't of Justice, 745 F.2d 1476, 1485 (D.C. Cir. 1984)). In discharging this burden, the agency may rely on affidavits or declarations that provide reasonable detail of the scope of the search. Bennett v. DEA, 55 F. Supp. 2d 36, 39 (D.D.C. 1999) (citing Perry v. Block, 684 F.2d 121, 127 (D.C. Cir. 1982)). In the absence of countervailing evidence or apparent inconsistency of proof, [such affidavits] will suffice to demonstrate compliance with the obligations imposed by the FOIA. Id. The question focuses on the agency's search, not on whether additional documents exist that might satisfy the request. Steinberg, 23 F.3d at 551 (quoting Weisberg, 745 F.2d at 1485). 25 After outlining the basic structure of the agency's Master Central Index computer system, the declaration from the USSS indicates that three individuals searched the agency's computer system on three separate occasions from three different offices. Each of these searches looked for documents by name, date of birth, and social security number. This search appears to be the model of responsiveness under the FOIA. Rugiero contends, however, that the USSS cannot possibly have no documents pertaining to him since an agent testified at his trial. The declaration of the agency responds that the agent who testified maintained no paper files relative to him and had minimal contacts with Rugiero since another agency conducted the investigation. Because our legal standard focuses on the adequacy of the search, not the chance that additional responsive documents exist, id., summary judgment for the USSS was appropriate. 26 With regard to the IRS, the declaration outlined operation of its Integrated Data Retrieval System and stated that Rugiero's request for documents pertaining to himself within the Criminal Investigation Division compiled between 1984 and 1993 inclusive was processed twice, each time seeking to identify files with Rugiero's social security number. Rugiero again protests that the IRS must have records on him since the agency introduced his tax returns at his criminal trial. The Criminal Investigation Division, however, investigates violations of the criminal provisions of Title 26. Rugiero did not face such charges at his criminal trial. Moreover, the district court harmonized the introduction of tax records and the lack of responsive documents at the oral arguments on defendants' motions for summary judgment: 27 [I]n a drug case when the tax returns are introduced, it's not necessarily because there's any charge, of course, of tax evasion, but usually it's introduced to produce some evidence from which the jury could infer that the individual has some . . . illicit source of income that he's not disclosed on the tax returns because his lifestyle far exceeds what's shown on the tax return. That arises fairly often in drug cases. 28 Additionally, Rugiero questions the good faith of the IRS in responding to his request since the agency required him to narrow his search before processing it. The FOIA requires that a request reasonably describe the documents sought. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A). Accordingly, a request to narrow the scope of a search is entirely permissible under the Act. When the IRS asked Rugiero to narrow his request, the agency provided an overview of the types of records its divisions could be expected to have. Again, the focus is on the adequacy of the search, and there is no indication that the IRS failed to conduct an adequate search for the records requested. Therefore, summary judgment for the IRS was proper. Rugiero remains free, of course, to submit FOIA requests to other divisions within the IRS. 29 Finally, Rugiero challenges the adequacy of the search conducted by DOJ Tax, which initially maintained it had never received a FOIA request from Rugiero and only conducted its search when ordered to do so by the district court. The only file identified in the search related to this FOIA request, and no records relating to a criminal investigation of Rugiero were found. Because the declaration submitted by DOJ Tax fails to describe the methods of its search and states simply that the agency searched its indices, this response to Rugiero's FOIA requests verges on the impermissibly conclusory. Bennett, 55 F. Supp. 2d at 40 (An affidavit must give reasonable detail of the scope of the search in order to satisfy the agency's burden of proof; simply stating that 'any and all records' were searched is insufficient.). The declaration does state that DOJ Tax maintains its files by the name of the subject of an investigation, so whatever files the agency searched in response to Rugiero's request would have turned up any documents if he were the target of an investigation. Of course, Rugiero requested all documents relating to him, not just those pertaining to an investigation of himself, and DOJ Tax has not given any indication that it conducted this broader search. Our inquiry focuses on the reasonableness of the search, not the potential existence of additional responsive documents. Steinberg, 23 F.3d at 551 (quoting Weisberg, 745 F.2d at 1485). We think that DOJ Tax conducted a reasonable search in response to Rugiero's FOIA request and that the declaration demonstrates compliance with the obligations the Act imposes on the agency. Therefore, since the record lacks any countervailing evidence, the district court properly granted summary judgment.