Isaacs v. United States Department of Education

Filing 38

Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: ORDER entered denying 36 Motion (FDS, law1)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
__________________________________________
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JEFFREY ISAACS,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
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OF EDUCATION,
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Defendant.
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__________________________________________)

Civil Action No.
17-11221-FDS

ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO
ADD DOCUMENTS TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD
SAYLOR, J.
Plaintiff Jeffrey Isaacs has moved to add documents to the administrative record that
were withheld based upon the deliberative-process privilege.
As a general matter, the basis of a court’s review of an agency’s decision is the
administrative record. Town of Norfolk v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 968 F.2d 1438, 145859 (1st Cir. 1992) (citing Florida Power & Light Co. v. Lorion, 470 U.S. 729, 743-44 (1985);
Camp v. Pitts, 411 U.S. 138, 142 (1973)). A strong showing of bad faith or improper behavior is
required before ordering the supplementation of the administrative record. Id. Deliberative
documents should not be included as part of the administrative record as a matter of law, because
government agency proceedings benefit from a presumption of regularity. See Oceana, Inc. v.
Pritzker, 217 F. Supp. 3d 310, 318 (D.D.C 2016); Stand Up for California! v. U.S. Dep’t of
Interior, 71 F. Supp. 3d 109, 123-24 (D.D.C. 2014). Therefore, when an agency’s action is
challenged, the reasonableness of the agency’s action must be judged based on its stated reasons,

unless there is a showing of bad faith or exceptional circumstances. See Oceana, Inc., 217 F.
Supp. 3d at 318; Stand Up for California!, 71 F. Supp. 3d at 123-24.
Plaintiff has not made a showing that the Department of Education acted in bad faith or
improperly, or at least to the degree necessary to make an exception to the ordinary rule. He will
therefore be limited to the administrative record, which was certified as complete, in challenging
the agency’s decision.
In summary, because plaintiff has failed to show that extraordinary circumstances justify
production of the agency’s deliberative-process documents, the motion is DENIED.
So Ordered.

/s/ F. Dennis Saylor
F. Dennis Saylor IV
United States District Judge

Dated: July 20, 2018

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