Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am. Pac. Sw. Region v. Dep't of Energy, No. 13-02204, 2015 WL 237150 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2015) (England, Jr., C. J.)

Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am. Pac. Sw. Region v. Dep't of Energy, No. 13-02204, 2015 WL 237150 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2015) (England, Jr., C. J.)

Re: Request for payroll information from large-scale solar utility project

Disposition: Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 4:  The court holds that "DOE has the burden to establish that Exemption 4 applies, and it has met that burden."  "[T]he Court [finds that it] must focus on whether DOE has shown that releasing the requested information is likely to cause substantial competitive injury."  The court finds that defendant's statements that "'[l]abor cost can be derived'" from disclosure of the information at issue and that " labor costs are what determine a winning bid because other costs, such as materials, are usually standardized across all bidders" are not overcome by plaintiff's arguments.  The court explains that plaintiff's "declarants cannot say, based on their personal knowledge, that labor costs and labor efficiency are not the distinguishing factors in the bidding process for large-scale solar utility projects."