FOIA Advisor

Court opinion issued Oct. 13, 2021

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Friends of Animals v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv. (10th Cir.) -- affirming in part and reversing in part district court’s decision and holding that: (1) agency properly relied on Exemption 7(C) to withhold names of individuals importing African giraffe parts or products; (2) Exemption 7(C) did not protect names of individuals importing African elephant skins and parts because names were publicly available elsewhere and prospect of harassment was “primarily speculative”; and (3) agency could not sustain its Exemption 4 withholdings using agency affidavit containing inadmissible hearsay.statements. A partial dissent argued that the majority undervalued the privacy interests of elephant importers and overvalued the public interests at stake.

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