42 new FOIA court documents, plus case descriptions

We have added 34 documents from 6 FOIA cases filed between September 14, 2014 and September 20, 2014. Note that there can be delays between the date a case is filed and when it shows up on PACER. If there are filings from this period that have yet to be posted on PACER, this FOIA Project list may not be complete.

Click on a case title below to view details for that case, including links to the associated docket and complaint documents.

1. The Inclusive Communities Project Inc v. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (filed Sep 15, 2014)
   The Inclusive Communities Project, a fair housing organization in Dallas, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for records concerning the Housing Choice Voucher in counties near Dallas. The organization asked for records in electronic format and indicated that the organization was willing to pay up to $1,000 in costs. HUD acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, ICP filed suit.
   Issues: Choice of format, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. The Inclusive Communities Project Inc v. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (filed Sep 15, 2014)
   The Inclusive Communities Project, a fair housing organization in Dallas, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for records concerning Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plans approved by HUD in connection with multi-family HUD insured loans. HUD acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, ICP filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. CONLEY v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Sep 18, 2014)
   Kevin Conley, convicted of murder in New Jersey, submitted a multi-part request to the FBI for various DNA analysis records pertaining to his conviction. The FBI divided his request into three separate requests. The FBI’s response to the first request contained 107 pages heavily redacted under Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods and techniques). The response to the second request contained 172 pages that pertained to his trial but not to the DNA analysis. The agency failed to respond to the third request. Conley appealed the first two responses to the Office of Information Policy. OIP upheld the FBI’s use of 7(E) but did not respond to the second appeal. Conley then filed suit.
   Issues: Exemption 7(E) – Investigative methods or techniques, Litigation – Vaughn index
4. ACCURACY IN MEDIA, INC. et al v. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE et al (filed Sep 19, 2014)
   Accuracy in Media and a number of retired military officers submitted 17 FOIA requests to multiple agencies for records pertaining to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. The requests also asked for expedited processing, inclusion in the media category, and a public interest fee waiver. While some agencies failed to respond further, several agencies denied expedited processing and the State Department asked Accuracy in Media to narrow its request, which it did. After exhausting administrative remedies with all the agencies, Accuracy in Media filed suit.
   Issues: Choice of format, Expedited processing, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fee Category – Media or Educational, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
5. NOLEN v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Sep 19, 2014)
   Austin Nolen submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records linking Martin Andrew Droll, a socialist writer and organizer who had committed suicide, to terrorist groups. The FBI responded by telling Nolen that it could not find any responsive records. Nolen filed an administrative appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency he filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Withholding not related to exemption claims
6. Lapp v. The Federal Bureau Of Investigation (filed Sep 19, 2014)
   Eric Lapp, the owner of Fingerprint Solutions, a company dealing with the storage and use of fingerprints, submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for a list of all public housing agencies that had submitted requests to the FBI for Originating Agency Identifiers. The agency told Lapp that it was unable to search based on the description of records he provided. Lapp appealed the denial to the Office of Information Policy, which upheld the agency’s decision and told Lapp he could further appeal to the Office of Government Information Services. Lapp appealed to OGIS, but that agency told him it had limited authority to act. Lapp finally filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Withholding not related to exemption claims

In addition, we have added 8 documents from 1 case, with an earlier filing date, that has recently appeared on PACER.

• Alvin v. United States Department of Justice, et al. (MAG+) (filed Sep 12, 2014)
  Mistrell Alvin, a federal prisoner in Alabama, submitted a request to the Department of Justice for records concerning authorization for wiretaps used in Alvin’s case in Georgia. The Criminal Division withheld the records under Exemption 3 (other statutes). Alvin appealed to the Office of Information Policy, which affirmed the Criminal Division’s denial on the basis of Exemption and Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods and techniques). Alvin then filed suit.
  Issues: Exemption 3, Exemption 7(E), Litigation – Sanctions