Opinion
Civil Action No. 04-800 (GK).
September 1, 2005
ORDER
Defendant has moved pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e) for reconsideration of the Order directing the release under the Freedom of Information Act, ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552, of nine pages of records withheld under FOIA Exemption 3 described as firearms trace reports. Upon consideration of the parties' submissions, the Court will grant Defendant's motion.
Motions for reconsideration are committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. See Firestone v. Firestone, 76 F.3d 1205, 1208 (D.C. Cir. 1996). A motion for reconsideration need not be granted "unless the district court finds that there is an intervening change in controlling law, the availability of new evidence or the need to correct a clear error or prevent manifest injustice." Id. (citations and quotations omitted). Defendant bases its motion on an intervening change in controlling law, citing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005. The Court considered this law in its initial ruling, see Memorandum Opinion of April 18, 2005 at 3, but without the benefit of Defendant's briefing of the legislative history. See Defendant's Motion at 11-16. The legislative history makes clear that Congress was aware of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive's disclosure obligations under the FOIA and sought to prevent the public release of sensitive firearms trace data not so much for budgetary reasons than out of concern that such disclosures could jeopardize criminal investigations. Defendant has now properly justified withholding the records under Exemption 3 based on the 2005 appropriations legislation. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Reconsideration [# 26] is granted; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED that the part of the Order of April 18, 2005, denying Defendant's Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment and directing the release of records subject to Plaintiff's payment of costs is vacated. The Clerk is directed to promptly transmit a copy of this Order to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.