Lists of civil lawsuits brought against WMATA

Dear Sir/Madam,

My email address is no longer valid for Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) and Privacy request matters. Please send all future PARP and Privacy inquiries to the following email address: Parpprivreq@wmata.com<mailto:Parpprivreq@wmata.com>. Requests should be addressed to Sonia A. Bacchus, Chief Counsel, Regulatory Affairs and Customer Service or Benjamin Rashbaum, Assistant General Counsel.
Best Regards,

Keysia A. Thom
Procurement Analyst
Office of Procurement and Materials
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
600 5th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001

Dear Ms. CJ Ciaramella:

Please be advised that today, May 19, 2015, is the first time the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority received your request below. We will open it as a PARP Request, and you will receive an acknowledgment shortly.

Dear Ms. Ciaramella:
On May 19, 2015, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) first received your request, which we understand you claim to have filed on February 24, 2015. Pursuant to the District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act of 1974, you requested the following records:
"Copies of all reports, lists, databases, or individual documents created since January 1, 2009 that detail lawsuits brought against WMATA. This should include any documentation mechanism that the agency uses to track lawsuits. It should also include any documents that the agency submits to a local, state, or federal agencies listing the number and/or status of lawsuits brought against the agency."
Please be advised that WMATA is not subject to the District's FOIA statute. However, WMATA will process your request pursuant to WMATA's Public Access to Records Policy (PARP), which may be found at: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/docs/pi_9_3_1.pdf.
Fee Waiver Request:
You also requested a fee waiver, claiming that you are a journalist employed by the Washington Free Beacon and that you intend to use the requested information to inform the public by making the documents available free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com. Unfortunately, we must deny your request for a fee waiver because your request does not sufficiently establish that you are entitled to a fee waiver. You have not shown how the information would be disseminated, other than through passively making it available to anyone who might seek to access it, which does not meet the burden of demonstrating with particularity that the information will be communicated to the public. Moreover, while you claim that you will make the requested documents available to the general public, you do not state that you plan to use your editorial skills to create new content (a news article) based on the records requested. Finally, you have not shown that the records requested are related to a current news event or are of current interest to the public. Therefore, you will be expected to pay for search, review and duplication costs. In the near future will provide you an estimate of the cost of processing this request, and you will be required to confirm your willingness to pay prior to us processing this request. See PARP § 8.6.
Although we cannot yet provide you with any records, I can impart some general information now:
Exemptions:

Certain types of information are exempt from disclosure under the PARP. The exemptions include the following: (1) information that could compromise WMATA's infrastructure or security; (2) internal deliberations on policy matters; (3) attorney-client privileged communications; (4) information that if released would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; and (5) certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes. Generally, WMATA's response will not include any exempt information.
If you wish to appeal WMATA's decision regarding your request for a fee waiver, in accordance with PARP § 9.1, you may file a written appeal of the action with the Chief of Staff within 30 business days of the date of this denial of your request for a fee waiver. Further details about the appeal process can be found on our website.
Future correspondence should reference the PARP Request Number above. If you have any questions, please contact Sonia Bacchus at sbacchus@wmata.com<mailto:sbacchus@wmata.com>.

Sincerely,

Sonia Bacchus
Chief Counsel, Customer Service and
Regulatory Affairs
WMATA

This electronic message may contain information that is confidential or privileged. The information is intended for the use of the recipient named above. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, dissemination or use of the information is prohibited and no privilege is waived. If you have received this information in error, please (1) notify me immediately, (2) do not use, copy, disclose or disseminate this information in any way; and (3) collect all copies of the information that may have been inadvertently disseminated.

Dear Sir/Madam:

This is in response to your request for "all reports, lists, databases, or individual documents created since January 1, 2009 that detail lawsuits brought against WMATA." Your request was processed pursuant to the Public Access to Records Policy (PARP), which can be viewed on our website at http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/public_rr.cfm, under the section marked, "Legal Affairs."

Attached please find a report from our database that provides the information that you seek. Please confirm receipt of these records. Please note that KFC U.S. Properties, Inc. on page 29 is located in Greenbelt, Maryland, and not "Baltimore" as stated in the records. Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.6, we have redacted names where minors were/are involved, but we have left in their initials.

If you wish to appeal WMATA's decision, in accordance with WMATA's PARP § 9.1, you may file a written appeal of the action with the Chief of Staff within 30 business days of the date of this decision letter. Further details about our appeals process can be found on our website.

Future correspondence should reference the PARP request number noted above. If you have any questions, please contact Sonia A. Bacchus, Chief Counsel, Customer Service and Regulatory Affairs at (202) 962-1093 or sbacchus@wmata.com. You may also contact Assistant General Counsel, Benjamin Rashbaum at (202) 962-1926 or brashbaum@wmata.com if Ms. Bacchus is unavailable.

Sincerely,

Adam T. Fields

PARP/Privacy Policy Paralegal

THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE RECIPIENT NAMED ABOVE. IF THE READER OF THIS MESSAGE IS NOT THE NAMED RECIPIENT, OR THE AGENT RESPONSIBLE TO DELIVER IT TO THE NAMED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE NOTIFIED THAT ANY DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, COPYING OR OTHER USE OF THIS INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND NO PRIVILEGE IS WAIVED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY THE ABOVE-NAMED INDIVIDUAL IMMEDIATELY.