1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |E-Mails Regarding Competitor's Responsibility Not Releasable Under FOIA

E-Mails Regarding Competitor's Responsibility Not Releasable Under FOIA

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.16.09

In Tybrin Corp. v. USAF (W.D. Ohio Feb. 19, 2009), the district court ruled that e-mails submitted by Tybrin regarding a competitor's responsibility, which ultimately resulted in the exclusion of that competitor, were confidential commercial information under FOIA Exemption 4 and, therefore, not releasable. In doing so, the court relied on Tybrin's practice of treating such e-mails as confidential, not only as to the general public but also within the company, and the fact that Tybrin had a "commercial interest" in the e-mails and so the e-mails were "commercial" information.

Contacts

Insights

Client Alert | 2 min read | 12.19.25

GAO Cautions Agencies—Over-Redact at Your Own Peril

Bid protest practitioners in recent years have witnessed agencies’ increasing efforts to limit the production of documents and information in response to Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protests—often will little pushback from GAO. This practice has underscored the notable difference in the scope of bid protest records before GAO versus the Court of Federal Claims. However, in Tiger Natural Gas, Inc., B-423744, Dec. 10, 2025, 2025 CPD ¶ __, GAO made clear that there are limits to the scope of redactions, and GAO will sustain a protest where there is insufficient evidence that the agency’s actions were reasonable....