Rejected transit advertisements

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has received your request for records. You should receive a formal acknowledgment from the assigned attorney within ten (10) business days of receipt. More information on the PARP/Privacy process is available on line at: https://www.wmata.com/about/records/

Dear Ms. Lipton:

This is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) acknowledgment of and final decision on your August 1, 2019 Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) request for:

A list of advertisements and associated imagery rejected by WMATA for any reason since January 1, 2019. For each advertisement that did not satisfy WMATA’s requirements for acceptable marketing material, please include the following information:

1. Name of the advertiser or entity submitting the advertisement;
2. Date it was rejected;
3. Any reasons or justification for its rejection;
4. An image of the proposed ad;
5. The proposed location for the advertisement.

Your request was processed pursuant to the Public Access to Records Policy (PARP), which can be viewed on our website at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm under the section marked “Legal Affairs.”

Decision

Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.5 (deliberative process and attorney work product), WMATA denies Parts 1-3 and 5 of your request because responsive records are used by WMATA in making a final agency decision, and WMATA’s Office of General Counsel maintains such records in anticipation of litigation. Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.4 (trade secrets and commercial/proprietary information), WMATA denies Part 4 of your request because the images are the intellectual property of the companies that submitted them. Therefore, all responsive records are exempt from disclosure.

Appeal Rights

If you wish to appeal WMATA’s decision, in accordance with PARP § 9.1, you may file a written appeal of the action with the Executive Vice President, External Relations, Barbara Richardson, at brichardson@wmata.com<mailto:brichardson@wmata.com>, 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 be directed to my attention and should reference the PARP request number noted above. If you have any questions, please contact me at sbacchus@wmata.com<mailto:sbacchus@wmata.com>. If I am unavailable, you may contact Associate Counsel, Benjamin Rashbaum, at brashbaum@wmata.com<mailto:brashbaum@wmata.com>.

Sincerely,

Sonia Bacchus
Senior Counsel II
Office of General Counsel
WMATA

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