Laverpool v. Dep't of Hous. & Urban Dev.
Laverpool v. Dep't of Hous. & Urban Dev.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff Keith Laverpool brought this pro se action under the Freedom of Information Act requesting documents related to the foreclosure of his Georgia residence. In now seeking summary judgment, the Government contends that it has conducted an adequate search and released all retrieved documents in full. The Court concurs.
I. Background
The underlying factual background here is undisputed. Laverpool submitted essentially identical FOIA requests on July 13, 2015, and May 23, 2017, to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. See Compl., Exhs. A, B. Both sought five categories of material: (1) anything related to a specific Federal Housing Administration file number concerning a property at 1580 Smithson Court, Lithonia, Georgia; (2) proof that Plaintiff canceled his FHA insurance; (3) proof that the lender did so; (4) any request for a foreclosure sale of the property; and (5) loan documents relating to the property. Id. A search uncovered 144 pages, all of which were ultimately released in full. See ECF No. 6-1 (Declaration of Michael German), ¶¶ 5-6. Laverpool nonetheless initiated the instant suit on February 12, 2018, and HUD now moves for summary judgment.
*390II. Legal Standard
Summary judgment may be granted if "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A genuine issue of material fact is one that would change the outcome of the litigation. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
FOIA cases typically and appropriately are decided on motions for summary judgment. See Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Border Patrol,
III. Analysis
In seeking summary judgment here, the Government maintains that its search efforts sufficiently comply with FOIA. "An agency fulfills its obligations under FOIA if it can demonstrate beyond material doubt that its search was 'reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents.' " Valencia-Lucena v. U.S. Coast Guard,
*391Am. Immigration Council v. Dep't of Homeland Sec.,
To support its position regarding the adequacy of the search here, Defendant attaches the Declaration of Michael German, the Director of HUD's Georgia State Office. German avers that "[a] search was conducted by HUD Single Family staff of all HUD databases that would have information responsive to Mr. Laverpool's FOIA request." German Decl., ¶ 5. HUD released 133 pages in full to Plaintiff and explained that those documents were responsive to his first and fifth categories of records sought, but that HUD had none responsive to his remaining categories.
Laverpool nonetheless raises several distinct challenges. He first inexplicably targets HUD's reliance on FOIA exemptions to withhold the 11 pages. See Opp. at 2-3. Yet, as just explained, while Defendant relied on the exemptions in its first response to Plaintiff, it ultimately abandoned that tack and released them in full. This issue is thus moot.
Laverpool next points out that German "may lack personal knowledge," Opp. at 4, apparently as to the search. Yet, "FOIA affidavits can be based on hearsay, and there is no requirement that the declarant must have been personally involved in each of the challenged searches." Wisdom v. U.S. Trustee Program,
The central point Laverpool appears to be urging here-and the motivator for his FOIA requests in the first place-is that he himself never canceled his FHA insurance. He seems to wish to obtain a written document showing who canceled it and how, which, the Court assumes, he believes may be helpful in demonstrating that there may have been an error in his foreclosure proceedings. See Opp. at 4. German, however, took the extra step-not required by FOIA, which mandates only the release of documents, not the answers to requesters' questions-of elucidating this issue:
In a seven-page document entitled FHA Case Details that was released to you, there is information regarding cancellation of the FHA mortgage insurance in 2013. Specifically, on pages 3 and 4 of that document, there is information that Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation, which was the servicer/holder of your mortgage in 2013, effected cancellation of the FHA mortgage insurance, effective April 29, 2013. The information input by Roundpoint Mortgage indicates it was a voluntary termination of the insurance by the lender and borrower.
*392German Decl., Exh. D. To the extent that "information" does not include signed paperwork, the Government explains that this is because in 2013 "there was no HUD policy requiring that the cancellation be in writing." Reply at 1.
While it is understandable that Plaintiff may be dissatisfied that he cannot locate the document he seeks, the Government has sufficiently articulated why it likely does not exist. Agencies, in any event, are judged not on the specific documents that they produce but on whether the search was "reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents." Weisberg v DOJ,
IV. Conclusion
For the reasons stated above, the Court will issue a contemporaneous Order granting summary judgment to Defendant.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Keith LAVERPOOL v. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published