Case 1:12-cv-00127-BJR Document 40 Filed 03/04/15 Page 8 of 22
warranted given that NSD limited its search to only one employee’s files. NSD’s reason for
limiting its search to this one employee’s files was that “[n]o other locations within NSD area
[were] reasonably likely to have responsive records that are not duplicated in the electronic files
of the lead attorney.” Bradley 1st Decl. ¶ 9. However, this conclusion is based solely on the
lead attorney’s representations, and it is not obvious why the lead attorney would know the
contents of all the responsive records so as to affirm that they are duplicative of his files or,
conversely, that his files are duplicative of all other files.
Moreover, it does not appear that NSD used any search terms to search its records, or, if
it did, NSD does not provide these search terms to the Court. See Valencia–Lucena, 180 F.3d at
326 (explaining that a reasonably detailed affidavit should set forth the search terms used by the
agency). This is especially troubling given the specificity of EPIC’s request, which expressly
included the names of people and companies it sought information about. See Meeropol v.
Meese, 790 F.2d 942, 956 (D.C. Cir. 1986) (stating that courts should measure the adequacy of a
search by “the reasonableness of the effort in light of the specific request”).
The Court finds that NSD’s affidavit does not provide sufficient details to support an
adequate search. Any future search must “reflect a systematic approach to document location.”
See Oglesby, 920 F.2d at 68 (“A reasonably detailed affidavit, setting forth the search terms and
the type of search performed, and averring that all files likely to contain responsive materials (if
such records exist) were searched, is necessary to afford a FOIA requester an opportunity to
challenge the adequacy of the search and to allow the district court to determine if the search was
adequate in order to grant summary judgment.”); McGehee v. Cent. Intelligence Agency, 697
F.2d 1095, 1102 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (indicating that a agency’s affidavit should “describe[] its
search procedures and explain[] why a more thorough investigation would have been unduly
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