Opinion ID: 218449
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Attorney Work Product Privilege

Text: The Board also withheld one document under Exemption 5 pursuant to the attorney work product privilege. See Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 432 F.3d 366, 369 (D.C. Cir. 2005) (“FOIA Exemption 5 incorporates the work-product doctrine and protects against the disclosure of attorney work product.”). “The work-product doctrine shields materials ‘prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial by or for another party or by or for that other party’s representative (including the other party’s attorney, consultant, surety, indemnitor, insurer, or agent).’ ” Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(3)). According to the Board, the withheld document “was prepared by FRBNY attorneys in anticipation of litigation by Bear Stearns shareholders related to the Board’s authorization to extend credit to [Bear Stearns] indirectly through [JP Morgan].” Vaughn Index Doc. No. 38 (Joint Appendix 97). On appeal, McKinley argues only that the FRBNY does not come 18 within the consultant corollary and for that reason the Board cannot claim the attorney work product privilege. Having concluded that the FRBNY did indeed act as a consultant to the Board, we reject McKinley’s argument. The FRBNY, acting as the Board’s consultant, prepared the withheld document for the Board in anticipation of litigation. Id. Accordingly, the Board properly withheld the document under Exemption 5.10 For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Board. So ordered. 10 In Bloomberg L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 601 F.3d 143, 145-46, 147 (2d Cir. 2010), the Second Circuit recently held that records regarding loans made by the twelve Reserve Banks to certain private banks in April and May 2008—specifically “the name of the borrowing bank, the amount of the loan, the origination and maturity dates, and the collateral given”—cannot be withheld under FOIA Exemption 4. The Board argued before the district court that the withheld records were exempt from disclosure under Exemption 5 but declined to appeal the district court’s adverse ruling on Exemption 5. Id. at 146. Thus, the Second Circuit did not address the applicability vel non of Exemption 5 to the requested records. Id. at 146-47. Although the district court held the requested records were not protected under Exemption 5, it did not address the issues relevant here. The court accepted—because Bloomberg did not dispute— the Board’s assertion that the withheld records were inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters. Bloomberg L.P. v. Bd. of Governors of Fed. Reserve Sys., 649 F. Supp. 2d 262, 280-81 (S.D.N.Y. 2009). Furthermore, the Board did not rely upon the deliberative process privilege. Id. at 281-82.