United Techs. Corp. v. US Dep't of Defense, No. 08-5435
United Techs. Corp. v. US Dep't of Defense, No. 08-5435, involved "reverse-FOIA" actions seeking to prevent the release of certain Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) documents evaluating plaintiff defense contractors' respective quality control processes.
The court of appeals reversed summary judgment for defendants, holding that DCMA's decision to release the documents was arbitrary and capricious in that it failed to properly apply Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act.
As the court of appeals wrote: "Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) and the Pratt and Whitney Division (Pratt) of United Technologies Corporation appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Department of Defense (Defense or DoD) and the Defense Contract
Management Agency (DCMA) in Sikorsky's and Pratt's separate lawsuits to prevent the release of certain DCMA documents evaluating their respective quality control processes. Sikorsky and Pratt contend that DCMA's decision to release the documents was arbitrary and capricious in that it failed to properly apply Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4). We agree and remand."