Harkonen v. USDOJ

Plaintiff, a medical doctor, filed suit arguing that he has the right to obtain, and the DOJ has an obligation to provide, the correction of statements the DOJ made about him in a 2009 press release. Plaintiff argued that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 500 et seq., provides for judicial review of the DOJ's denial of his correction requests under the Information Quality Act (IQA), Pub. L. No. 106-554, 114 Stat. 2763. The court concluded that the DOJ’s exclusion of press releases from the ambit of the IQA guidelines was within the discretion accorded to the agency and that the DOJ’s exclusion of press releases applies to the press release of which plaintiff seeks correction. Applying the second step of the Chevron analysis, the court concluded that the DOJ’s determination that the 2009 press release fell within its exclusion of press releases is neither erroneous nor inconsistent with the scope of dissemination as defined in the agency-specific guidelines. Therefore, the DOJ’s determination is accorded Auer v. Robbins deference. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the suit. View "Harkonen v. USDOJ" on Justia Law