Lintech Glob., Inc. v. FAA, No. 20-12062, 2024 WL 1348361 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 30, 2024) (Parker, J.)

Lintech Glob., Inc. v. FAA, No. 20-12062, 2024 WL 1348361 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 30, 2024) (Parker, J.)

Re:  Request for records of communication between plaintiff, defendant, and company, as well as certain contract records

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  The court holds that “[defendant’s] detailed affidavit establishes the adequacy of FAA’s searches in response to [plaintiff’s] FOIA requests.”  “[Defendant] provides that she searched for email communications, Skype chats, text messages, and other communications associated with the custodians [plaintiff] agreed to or requested, for the date ranges identified in [plaintiff’s] requests.”  “[Defendant] explains that the search terms chosen to search for the requested records tracked those [plaintiff] used in its requests . . . , and the searches sought correspondence with [the company’s] email addresses associated with the representatives from [the company] identified by [plaintiff] . . . .”  “According to [defendant], the locations searched were the only locations within the FAA where she would expect to find records or communications responsive to [plaintiff’s] requests.”
  
  “[Plaintiff] maintains that the search terms used by the FAA were too lengthy to return adequate results.”  “However, mere speculation that different search terms would produce different results is insufficient to rebut the FAA’s showing of reasonableness.”  “[Plaintiff] nevertheless points to documents it obtained independently of the FAA, which it claims the FAA would have discovered in its records had its search not been inadequate.”  “But a court’s ‘review focuses on the adequacy of the agency’s search, and not on the chance that additional documents exist.’”  “[Plaintiff] claims the FAA acted in bad faith, pointing to an asserted six-month delay in the agency’s completion of the search and the cost estimates for responding to [plaintiff’s] requests.”  “[Plaintiff] fails to suggest, much less demonstrate, that the estimated fees here exceeded the FAA’s schedule.”  “Moreover, [plaintiff] did not pay the second . . . estimate.”  “The six-month delay in the FAA’s production also fails to demonstrate that the FAA acted in bad faith.”  “First, some of the delay was caused by the exchange of correspondence between [plaintiff] and the FAA to clarify [plaintiff’s] requests.”  “Second, delay was caused by discussions regarding the FAA’s first fee estimate before [plaintiff] agreed to pay it; and, the FAA was not obligated under FOIA to respond to the requests until the fee was paid or a fee waiver (if applicable) was obtained.”  “Finally, courts have found no bad faith in cases involving much longer delays.”