Dalal v. United States Department of Justice


UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AAKASH DALAL, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 16-1040 (TJK) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Aakash Dalal, serving a 35-year state sentence for his role in attacks on New Jersey syna- gogues and a rabbi’s home, sued Defendants, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the Executive Office of United States Attorneys (“EOUSA”), and the Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency (“FEMA”) over requests he made to them under the Freedom of Information Act, as well as requests he made to the FBI and EOUSA under the Privacy Act, for records related to his investigation and prosecution. Pending before the Court are each Defendant’s motion for summary judgment and Dalal’s corresponding cross-motions. For the reasons explained below, the Court will (1) grant in part and deny without prejudice in part the FBI’s motion for summary judgment, and deny in part and deny without prejudice in part Dalal’s cross-motion; (2) grant in part and deny without prejudice in part EOUSA’s motion for summary judgment, and deny in part and deny without prejudice in part Dalal’s cross motion; and (3) grant in part and deny without prejudice in part FEMA’s motion for summary judgment and deny in part and deny without prejudice in part Dalal’s cross-motion. Procedural Background A. FBI Dalal requested records from the FBI first. He asked for documents under FOIA and the Privacy Act about his “presence at the Newark, New Jersey Field Office,” including logs, docu- ments, reports, and video surveillance of the lobby and parking lot. ECF No. 1-1 at 2. Relatedly, he also sought logs reflecting the presence of two other individuals at the same field office on the same date. Id. About six months later, he made a second request under FOIA, seeking documents “reflecting corruption within the FBI”—specifically, the personnel file of FBI Special Agent Co- rey Coleman, who worked on his case, and any records relating to Special Agent Coleman’s work with an individual, Wendel Stewart, who Dalal believed was an FBI informant. ECF No. 6 ¶ 16 (“Am. Compl.”); see ECF No. 32 at 5–6. Two months later, Dalal made his third request under FOIA and the Privacy Act, seeking all records relating to himself. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 20–21; ECF No. 32 at 7–8. After the FBI denied his requests and appeals, Dalal sued. ECF No. 1. The Court then ordered the FBI to produce all non-exempt, responsive records and a Vaughn index. See Minute Order of Oct. 27, 2016. The FBI released 210 pages of responsive records in full or in part and withheld 604 records in full. ECF No. 32 at 9. Then the FBI released a second round of documents, disclosing 154 out of 202 pages in full or in part, including some previously withheld material. Id. Later, the FBI released one DVD containing video records. Id. The next month, the FBI reviewed 220 pages and one CD and released 48 pages in full or part. …

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