United States District Court,
District of Columbia.
ICM REGISTRY, LLC, Plaintiff,
v.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, et al., Defendants.
Civil Action No. 06-0949 (JR).
March 12, 2008.
538 F.Supp.2d 130 (D.D.C.,2008)

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit was brought in an effort to ascertain government's involvement with the rejection of plaintiff's application for a new .xxx Internet domain. Parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.

The District Court, James Robertson, J., held that:

(1) government's action in pressuring domain registrar to reject application for a new .xxx Internet domain was not misconduct within the meaning of “misconduct exception” to FOIA's deliberative process privilege, and
(2) documents reflecting government's active consideration of various responses to approval of application for a new .xxx Internet domain were protected from disclosure by deliberative process privilege.

Defendants' motion granted.