American Civil Liberties Union Foundation et al v. Department of Justice et al and 17 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 75 documents from 13 FOIA cases filed between January 13, 2019 and January 19, 2019. 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. American Civil Liberties Union Foundation et al v. Department of Justice et al (filed Jan 17, 2019)
   The American Civil Liberties Union submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State for records concerning the government’s use of social media surveillance technology. The ACLU also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. Several agencies denied the ACLU’s request for expedited processing. The State Department told the ACLU that its request did not sufficiently describe the records sought. The ACLU filed administrative appeals of all denials. Having heard nothing further from any of the agencies, the ACLU filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
2. SAVAGE v. BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES (filed Jan 14, 2019)
   Len Savage, a firearms dealer in Georgia, submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for records concerning the use of bump-stocks during the commission of a crime. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and provided some records to Savage. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Savage filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
3. Organization of Professional Aviculturists, Inc. v. Everson et al (filed Jan 14, 2019)
   The Organization of Professional Agriculturalists submitted six FOIA requests to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for records concerning the agency’s regulations implementing the Wild Bird Conservation Act and its implementation. OPA submitted an additional three FOIA requests. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, OPA filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. Junk v. Board Of Governors Of The Federal Reserve System. (filed Jan 14, 2019)
   Daniel Junk submitted a FOIA request to the Federal Reserve Board for records concerning the Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures identification numbers for Maiden Lane LLC. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied the request claiming that such records were in the possession of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and were not agency records of the Federal Reserve Board. Junk filed an administrative appeal of the agency’s denial, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Junk filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. University of Washington et al v. Central Intelligence Agency (filed Jan 14, 2019)
   The Center for Human Rights at the University of Washington Law School consolidated 13 FOIA requests to the CIA into a single request for records concerning human rights abuses by the El Salvadoran Army. The agency told the Center that processing would take 2-3 months. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the Center filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. WildEarth Guardians v. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement et al (filed Jan 15, 2019)
   WildEarth Guardians submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for records concerning WildEarth Guardians’ rulemaking petition. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and later told WildEarth Guardians that it had assembled some responsive records. But after hearing nothing further from the agency, WildEarth Guardians filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
7. Osen LLC v. Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of Treasury (filed Jan 15, 2019)
   The law firm of Osen LLC submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Treasury for records concerning the designation packages for designations of Sanabil, rhe Al-Salah Society, and Al-Waqfiya. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Osen LLC that it was referring the request to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Osen LLC filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. FELDESMAN TUCKER LEIFER FIDELL LLP v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed Jan 16, 2019)
   The law firm of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for the agency’s Grants Policy Administration Manual. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied the request under Exemption 2 (internal practices and procedures) and Exemption 5 (privileges). The law firm filed an administrative appeal of the agency’s denial, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the law firm filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. Mermelstein v. United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (filed Jan 16, 2019)
   Joseph Mermelstein submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning himself. The agency told Mermelstein that it had located 2,156 responsive pages which could be released on CDs for a cost of $70. The agency told Mermelstein’s attorney that it would take five years to disclose all the records, but the agency could disclose 720 pages within two years. Mermelstein rejected that offer. He then filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
10. PUBLIC CITIZEN, INC. v. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (filed Jan 17, 2019)
    Public Citizen submitted two FOIA requests to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for records concerning the revised Payday Rule and any litigation brought to challenge it. Public Citizen also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests and told Public Citizen that it would hold its fee waiver request in abeyance. The agency also told Public Citizen that it had located potentially responsive records to the first request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Public Citizen filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
11. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Jan 18, 2019)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning the appointment of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick as an official observer on behalf of the Department of State to the Helsinki Accords Commission. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
12. NISKANEN CENTER v. FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (filed Jan 18, 2019)
    The Niskanen Center submitted a FOIA request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for records concerning property owners identified by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in a specific agency docket. The Niskanen Center also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but redacted identifying information under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). The Niskanen Center filed an administrative appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the Niskanen Center filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
13. The New York Times Company, et al v. Department of Transportation (filed Jan 18, 2019)
    New York Times reporter Benjamin Protess submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Transportation for emails sent to or from senior officials to eop.gov addresses that contained keywords pertaining to Trump businesses. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the New York Times filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

In addition, we have added 5 documents from 5 cases, with earlier filing dates, that have recently appeared on PACER.

1. RAMDEO v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jan 11, 2019)
2. NAJI (filed Jan 10, 2019)
3. WILLIAMS v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jan 7, 2019)
4. DAVEY v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (filed Jan 7, 2019)
5. POWELL v. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (filed Jan 3, 2019)