Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media
Issues
Is information exempt from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act if the disclosure of the information does not cause substantial competitive harm to the third-party submitter?
This case asks the Supreme Court to resolve conflicting interpretations of Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). Food Marketing Institute contends that the plain meaning interpretation of Exemption 4 applies the exemption to confidential information, regardless of the competitive harm that will be caused if disclosed. And, if the Court selectively applies Exemption 4 to confidential information that will cause substantive competitive harm if disclosed, Food Marking Institute argues, then a reasonable possibility of competitive harm should satisfy the substantive harm standard. In response, Argus Leader Media asserts that Food Marketing Institute lacks the standing to bring this argument, because the Supreme Court cannot prohibit the disclosure of this information, precluding redressability. Argus Leader Media additionally asserts that the statutory context of Exemption 4—including multiple uses of identical language in other statutes—suggests that the Exemption 4 only applies to information that causes competitive harm. The outcome of this case will have implications on the disclosure of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) data and other privately-held data, consumer interests, and public health and safety.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
(1) Whether the statutory term “confidential” in the Freedom of Information Act’s Exemption 4 bears its ordinary meaning, thus requiring the government to withhold all “commercial or financial information” that is privately held and not publicly disseminated, regardless of whether a party establishes substantial competitive harm from disclosure—which would resolve at least five circuit splits; and
(2) whether, in the alternative, if the Supreme Court retains the substantial-competitive-harm test, that test is satisfied when the requested information could be potentially useful to a competitor, as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 1st and 10th Circuits have held, or whether the party opposing disclosure must establish with near certainty a defined competitive harm like lost market share, as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 9th and District of Columbia Circuits have held, and as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit required here.
Respondent Argus Leader Media (“Argus Leader”) is a daily newspaper published in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In February 2011, Argus Leader filed a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) in order to investigate the effectiveness of the federally-subsidized Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”).
Edited by
Additional Resources
- Rebecca Edelson & Keith Szeliga, OH SNAP! Supreme Court to Take on Meaning of Key FOIA Exemption, National Law Review (Apr. 14, 2019).
- Edmund Amorosi, High Court May Defend Gov’t Contractors Against FOIA, Law 360 (Mar. 29, 2019).
- Josh Gerstein, Newspaper Presses FOIA Fight for Food Stamp Payment Data, Politico (Oct. 23, 2013).