DC Circuit Affirms Lukas FCC FOIA Suit Decision
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed Friday a lower court’s dismissal of Lukas LaFuria lawyer Russell Lukas’ lawsuit against the FCC over a Freedom of Information Act request (see 2004030027). Lukas sued in 2019 after a…
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FOIA request netted most of a Windstream filing with Universal Service Administrative Co., not a redacted exhibit. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled (in Pacer) in March in favor of FCC motions to dismiss. “The district court granted the FCC summary judgment on this claim, concluding that Lukas failed to overcome the presumption of good faith that attached to the FCC’s declaration concerning its invocation of” FOIA Exemption 4, the D.C. Circuit said in a summary ruling the FCC posted. “Lukas does not challenge this conclusion. He instead contends that the district court was required first to answer questions he posed: whether USAC is an agency for FOIA purposes and whether the records he sought were agency records. If they are, that leaves us with the district court’s unchallenged conclusion that Lukas failed to overcome the presumption of good faith. And if they are not, Lukas has pleaded himself out of court -- he would then not be entitled to seek these documents at all under FOIA.” The FCC and Lukas didn’t comment.