Tonkin v. US Customs Service

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
September 19, 2003
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-20400
Summary Calendar
RONALD H. TONKIN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE,
Defendant-Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. H-01-CV-4461
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Before JOLLY, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Ronald H. Tonkin appeals the district court’s dismissal of
his lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552
(“FOIA”). Tonkin argues that the (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C) FOIA
exemptions do not apply to the documents requested by him.
The requested records include information about an
investigation of specific individuals and therefore constitute
“files” within the meaning of the (b)(6) exemption. See Sherman
v. United States Dep’t of the Army, 244 F.3d 357, 361 (5th Cir.

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No. 03-20400
-2-
2001). The substantial privacy interests implicated in
disclosure of the requested documents outweigh the limited public
interest that would be served by revealing the records. See id.
Thus, disclosure “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy.” See 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). Because the
district court did not err in determining that the (b)(6)
exemption applied in this case, this court need not decide
whether the (b)(7)(C) exemption applied as well.
AFFIRMED.

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