Interesting case, in which the court rejected DOJ’s argument that it didn’t have to disclose inter-agency memos (here, between two departments in ENRD) because the agencies were in conflict. It may have ramifications, if it holds up, for post-Jicarilla trust cases if, for example, Justice and Interior (or Interior and NLRB) have opposing interests.
Here are the materials in Menasha Corp. v. DOJ (E.D. Wis.):
An excerpt from the opinion:
This case arises under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U . S.C. § 522. Plaintiffs Menasha Corporation (Menasha) and Neenah–Menasha Sewerage Commission (NMSC) allege that the Defendant, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), refused to provide records responsive to an administrative FOIA request (submitted to the DOJ on December 17, 2010). Presently before the Court is Defendant’s motion for summary judgment which raises the question of whether lawyers at the DOJ who represent separate client agencies with adverse interests in the same litigation can share confidential information with each other without waiving attorney-client privilege, work product privilege, and the deliberative process privilege. The Court concludes that the answer is no, and therefore denies Defendant’s motion for summary judgment and orders the requested information produced.
Turtle Talk 