C-File Law Suit

[RBrogen]

Curious if anyone here has gone through the FOIA and had to ultimately sue the VA in Federal District Court to force them to provide their C-File in a more timely manner?  FOIA's are required to be fulfilled in 20 business days by law assuming no special circumstances.  Obviously the VA isn't going to respond to anything in 20 days but when it goes on for 6 months or longer that is ridiculous and slows our ability to address claim denials/issues quickly.  I just filed a FOIA appeal and was sent a letter from the Office of General Counsel, Veterans Administration that my FOIA request was DENIED under FOIA Exemption 6 but remanded to be provided via the Privacy Act.  The issue is that the Privacy Act process has no deadline so they can take as long as they want, while the FOIA actually has deadlines and a process for relief when they don't do what they are supposed to.  From my understanding, this is a tact the VA uses to confuse people into thinking it is a Privacy Act request and not a FOIA request.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RBrogen]

FOIAAppealDenial.pdf

10 hours ago, GeekySquid said:

your post brings up an interesting situation. I have to admit you are the first veteran I have heard of being denied their C-File under FOIA Exemption 6. I am sure you are not alone, just my limited exposure to that event.

I did a little quick research and Justice.Gov provides some illuminating points on FOIA and Exemption 6...information you may have or want.

https://www.justice.gov/oip/foia-guide-2004-edition-exemption-6

Second, the Court articulated the general rule that the identity of a FOIA requester cannot be taken into consideration in determining what should be released under the Act. With the single exception that of course an agency will not invoke an exemption when the particular interest to be protected is the requester's own interest, the Court declared, "the identity of the requesting party has no bearing on the merits of his or her FOIA request." (24)

 

further the link reads:

It also is important to remember that while the government may voluntarily or involuntarily waive its right to an exemption when its own interests are at stake, it cannot waive an individual's privacy interests under the FOIA by unilaterally publicizing information about that person. (100) The privacy interest inherent in Exemption 6 "belongs to the individual, not the agency holding the information," and "the fact that otherwise private information at one time or in some way may have been placed in the public domain does not mean that a person irretrievably loses his or her privacy interest in the information."

Essentially what you are saying happened, assuming it is your own c-file, is a violation of the Law and in clear contradiction to SCOTUS several appeals court rulings.

You might just have a legal case if you have the funds to fight it.

Here is the actual denial letter.

Edited July 28, 2019 by RBrogen

[Berta]

Yes, you are correct that FOIA should garner a response within  20 days.

The VA Central FOIA officer responded to me very fast, but it was just a response- acknowledging the FOIA.

The FOIA info I requested came in about 3 weeks.

I had a fast response to a FOIA I have at the OGC.

The response wanted me to be more specific as to where they could find the info.

I named a specific OGC lawyer, the name of the veteran involved, the name of the private lawyer he had, and a few more specifics as to the dates and what the issue was about, and where they could find the documentation.

 

 

[RBrogen]

1 minute ago, Berta said:

Yes, you are correct that FOIA should garner a response within  20 days.

The VA Central FOIA officer responded to me very fast, but it was just a response- acknowledging the FOIA.

The FOIA info I requested came in about 3 weeks.

I had a fast response to a FOIA I have at the OGC.

The response wanted me to be more specific as to where they could find the info.

I named a specific OGC lawyer, the name of the veteran involved, the name of the private lawyer he had, and a few more specifics as to the dates and what the issue was about, and where they could find the documentation.

 

 

So you were requesting information not directly related to you which is why they wanted to be specific about the exact info so they could protect the privacy.  In my case, I'm requesting MY information that has nothing to do with anyone else.  As per GeekySquids info, I went to the Justice Department website and read exactly what exemption 6 covers.  Conveniently enough, the one piece that is missing from the VA denial letter is the last part of the sentence in the first paragraph of the explanation.  This is literally the first paragraph on the page and check out the bolded part I highlighted which is EXACTLY what the VA is doing.  Denying me my own information.  Full info here:  https://www.justice.gov/oip/foia-guide-2004-edition-exemption-6

Exemption 6

Personal privacy interests are protected by two provisions of the FOIA, Exemptions 6 and 7(C). While the application of Exemption 7(C), discussed below, is limited to information compiled for law enforcement purposes, Exemption 6 permits the government to withhold all information about individuals in "personnel and medical files and similar files" when the disclosure of such information "would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." ⁽¹⁾ These exemptions are a vitally important part of the FOIA's statutory scheme, ⁽²⁾ but of course they cannot be invoked to withhold from a requester information pertaining only to himself. ⁽³⁾

FOIAAppealDenial.pdf

[Berta]

Just to add- a recent VHA FOIA I sent got the same response very fast- they needed more specific info to search for the info- meantime I found some specific areas of VA ,that might have what I requested..... I have until 8-24th 2019 or they will close that FOIA. 

I dont think the VA might even have documentation of what I seek, but it is worth a shot.

The Local VAMC responed to a FOIA I sent to the some time ago- I was shocked at what I got-

I only asked for redacted copies of any applications for employment for a specific job , within a specific time frame.

They sent me 12 applications, for the specific job ,with the SSA numbers, and full names, contact info on those applicants.

They violated these applicants rights.The info revealed the evidence I was seeking but I burned the applications after I told VA what they did.They showed limited concern.

They violated many disabled veterans rights too because these veterans were part time seeking full time in a VA job they already had done well, yet they hired a non disabled civilian with No VA experience at all - because she knew someone who worked in the same department. All the vets there knew him too.

 

 

 

 

 

[Berta]

I just downloaded the letter-remanded to the RMC- if they do not react to it timely ( I dont know how to define 'timely' when it comes to the VA,by all means sue them in a District court- you  very seem well versed  in handling that without a lawyer- but please request from the district court , the state where the RMC is, a copy of their Rules and Procedures.

It is a lot to read but a good guideline to this type of action. You will probably get the Prisoner guidelines as well. More prisoners probably file more Pro Se  District Court cases than many non incarcerated people do.

They have more access to a law library at most prisons then I did when I sued the VA.

 

[RBrogen]

22 minutes ago, Berta said:

Just to add- a recent VHA FOIA I sent got the same response very fast- they needed more specific info to search for the info- meantime I found some specific areas of VA ,that might have what I requested..... I have until 8-24th 2019 or they will close that FOIA. 

I dont think the VA might even have documentation of what I seek, but it is worth a shot.

The Local VAMC responed to a FOIA I sent to the some time ago- I was shocked at what I got-

I only asked for redacted copies of any applications for employment for a specific job , within a specific time frame.

They sent me 12 applications, for the specific job ,with the SSA numbers, and full names, contact info on those applicants.

They violated these applicants rights.The info revealed the evidence I was seeking but I burned the applications after I told VA what they did.They showed limited concern.

They violated many disabled veterans rights too because these veterans were part time seeking full time in a VA job they already had done well, yet they hired a non disabled civilian with No VA experience at all - because she knew someone who worked in the same department. All the vets there knew him too.

 

 

 

 

 

As you mentioned the VA doesn't have a specific time frame unless.  This is the main reason to use FOIA.  The violation should be reported to the appropriate authorities for sure.

Edited July 28, 2019 by RBrogen