UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LAPIDUS LAW FIRM PLLC, Plaintiff, v. Civil No. 20-161 (JDB) WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff Lapidus Law Firm PLLC (“the Firm”) filed this action against defendant Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”) in January 2020, seeking under WMATA’s Public Access to Records Policy (“PARP”) documents relating to an October 2018 Metro Access van crash. Now before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. For the reasons explained below, the Court concludes that the Firm’s request was proper and that WMATA cannot, under PARP, decline to release the requested records merely because a claim for loss is pending. The Court will therefore require WMATA to reconsider the Firm’s request and either produce the responsive records or identify an applicable exemption that prevents it from disclosing the records. Background On October 1, 2018, a Metro Access van was involved in an accident on Interstate 270. See Decl. of James Hamilton (“Hamilton Decl.”) [ECF No. 7-4] ¶¶ 2–3; Ex. 2, Decl. of Barbara Richardson (“Richardson Decl.”) [ECF No. 7-3] at 1. Mariam Hendricks, a disabled adult and a passenger on the van, was injured in the accident. Ex. 2, Richardson Decl. at 1–2. Her parents, Minnis and Ann Hendricks, hired the Firm to represent them in PARP proceedings. Id. at 1. 1 Shortly after the accident, on October 8, 2018, the Firm sent a letter to WMATA, citing PARP and requesting documents relating to the incident, including (1) copies of the incident/accident reports; (2) supervisor reports; (3) “[a]ny and all visual evidence including but not limited to Dive Cam/CCTV/Photographic Evidence”; (4) investigatory documents; and (5) cost repair estimates of the MetroAccess Van. Id. Attached to that letter was an affidavit from Minnis and Ann, “authoriz[ing]” WMATA to provide the requested documents to the Firm. Id. at 2. Ann signed the affidavit “as Mother and Guardian of Mariam Hendricks, a Disabled Adult.” Id. The next day, October 9, 2018, WMATA responded to the Firm’s letter via an email, which read: “WMATA’s Third Party Claims Office is currently processing the attached claim, and therefore, your request for related records is being forwarded to that office. Thus, we are referring this request to April Rice, Claims Adjuster in WMATA’s Third Party Claims Office, who is handling the claim.” 1 Ex. 3, Richardson Decl. at 1. WMATA went on to advise the Firm to “direct correspondence regarding this request to Ms. Rice.” Id. About ten months later, on August 21, 2019, the Firm sent WMATA an email stating that the Firm had “submitted a PARP request during October of last year relating to a collision which injured our client while riding a Metro Access Van. We have yet to receive a response from WMATA and have attached the PARP request we previously sent.” Ex. 4, Richardson Decl. at 1. Later that day, WMATA responded, noting “according to our records, we received your request on October 8, 2018 and responded on October 9, ...
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