Turner v. U.S. Forest Service, No. 16-00635, 2018 WL 4051840 (S.D. Ill. August 24, 2018) (Rosenstengel, J.)

Turner v. U.S. Forest Service, No. 16-00635, 2018 WL 4051840 (S.D. Ill. August 24, 2018) (Rosenstengel, J.)

Re: Records pertaining to the gating of a cave in a national forest

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff's motion for summary judgment; granting defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: The court denies the plaintiff's motion to strike the government's declarations.  The court explains that the declarant was the "FOIA coordinator at the time of the search" and the "declarations describe, with specificity, the employees who participated in the search, the dates of the search, the places searched, the terms used in the electronic search, and the responsive records identified in the search."  The court grants in part defendant's motion to strike portions of the plaintiff's affidavit and exhibits because they are inadmissible hearsay or lack personal knowledge.  The court subsequently finds that the defendant's affidavits are "sufficient . . . to assess the adequacy of [the] search."  Although one statement from the government "was inaccurate, there is no evidence [the government] tried to intentionally mislead [the plaintiff]."  On the contrary, "Defendant's continuing discovery and release of records actually indicates good faith." 
   
• Procedural Requirements, Search: The court holds that the "Defendant's search terms were not unreasonable" and the search "through the records of nine [agency] employees" was consistent with where the defendant anticipated responsive records would be located.  The court further finds that "[t]here are no clear and certain leads defendant should have followed" that were not "already accounted for" in its search.  Finally, the court holds that, "even though Defendant's response was belated, [the plaintiff's] arguments as to the timeliness and adequacy of defendant's initial search efforts are moot."