Lawyers in Washington for two major defense contractors are fighting the government’s planned release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act, saying that the information is confidential and that disclosure should be stopped. On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in the case.
United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Division and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. — both represented by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld — sued the Defense Department and the Defense Contract Management Agency in an attempt to prevent the release of information that two journalists requested in 2004. The reporters wanted to know about the contractors’ quality assurance systems.
