ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION v. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY and 15 other new FOIA lawsuits
We have added 118 documents from 15 FOIA cases filed between August 25, 2019 and August 31, 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.
- ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION v. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed Aug 27, 2019)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security. EFF’s first request was submitted to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning the use of GPS tracking devices on vehicles crossing the border and training manuals for using GPS tracking devices on the U.S. border. EFF’s second FOIA request was submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for records concerning the use of GPS tracking devices on the U.S. borders and training for such use of GPS tracking devices. For both requests, EFF requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from either agency, EFF filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver - AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 26, 2019)
American Oversight submitted five FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning communications between former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and others in his office with U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John Huber, who had been directed by Sessions to investigate various matters. American Oversight also requested communications involving DOJ, Huber, and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC). The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. The Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys told American Oversight that it did not find any records pertaining to communications between Huber and Meadows. American Oversight filed an administrative appeal of that decision. After hearing nothing further pertaining to any of the requests, American Oversight filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 26, 2019)
American Oversight submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning communications between the agency and U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham, who had been directed to head several investigations. American Oversight’s second FOIA request also asked for communications involving the White House pertaining to Durham’s investigations. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, American Oversight filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 26, 2019)
Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Special Counsel’s Office at the Department of Justice for records concerning the FBI’s interview with Felix Sater, his cooperation with the agency, and communications between Sater and the Special Counsel’s Office. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and invoked a 10-day extension. 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 - ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE – LOS ANGELES v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed Aug 26, 2019)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning documentation related to the implementation of the agency’s new Notice to Appear policy for notification of eligibility for deportation and statistics related to the issuance of NTAs from 2012 to the present. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but told Advancing Justice-L.A. that DHS had no records and its request should properly be addressed to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Advancing Justice-L.A. filed an administrative appeal of the no records response. After hearing nothing further from the agency Advancing Justice-L.A. filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE – LOS ANGELES v. UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (filed Aug 26, 2019)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning the Department of Homeland Security’s new Notice-to-Appear policy for notification of eligibility for deportation and statistics related to the issuance of NTAs from 2012 to the present. Advancing Justice-L.A. also requested expedited processing. ICE acknowledged receipt of the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Advancing Justice-L.A. filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - James v. DeKalb County School District (filed Aug 26, 2019)
Naeema James requested records from the DeKalb School District concerning an incident in which her special needs child was injured while at school. This is not a FOIA case.
Issues: FOIA not mentioned - Park v. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (filed Aug 26, 2019)
Ronald Park, an attorney representing the Estate of Carolyn Lee Parsons, who died as a result of the mass shooting at Las Vegas, submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for records concerning the seller of the rifle used by the Las Vegas shooter. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Park filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed Aug 27, 2019)
American Oversight submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning communications between Secretary Alex Azar and a number of drug companies. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests and told American Oversight that the agency could not search for communications with the various companies without an identifying domain name. American Oversight responded by telling the agency that while identifying domain names was not necessary, it provided an attachment that had the domain names for most of the companies. American Oversight also told the agency that its searches should go beyond just the domain names. After hearing nothing further from the agency, American Oversight filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 27, 2019)
Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning materials provided for hiring purposes by lawyers and/or investigators hired by the Office of Special Counsel. 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 - JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Aug 27, 2019)
Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records of communications involving former head of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Kathleen Kavalec containing references to Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and other terms related to the 2016 election campaign. 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 - RP Automotive, Inc. v. United States General Services Administration (filed Aug 28, 2019)
RP Automotive, Inc., d/b/a Socal Penske Dealer Group, submitted a FOIA request to the General Services Administration for records concerning bids and responses to the agency’s request for proposal for the U.S. Fleet of vehicles. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and asked Socal Penske to narrow and clarify its request. Socal Penske narrowed its request. Socal Penske made a number of inquiries checking on the status of its request, but after the agency failed to respond, Socal Penske filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 28, 2019)
American Oversight submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning Attorney General William Barr’s appointment of U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham to conduct several investigations. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, American Oversight filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Phelan v. Housing and Urban Development (filed Aug 28, 2019)
Harold Phelan, an attorney representing Kimberly Mayfield, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for records concerning Mayfield’s EEO complaint. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and disclosed 244 pages in four separate emails. The agency redacted records under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Phelan filed an administrative appeal of the decision. The agency denied Phelan’s appeal, claiming he had not shown any public interest in disclosure of the redacted information. Phelan then filed suit.
Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees - ZAVALA RIVAS v. EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW (filed Aug 30, 2019)
Jose Pedro Zavala Rivas submitted a FOIA request to the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Department of Justice for records. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency Zavala Rivas filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
In addition, we have added 12 documents from 1 case, with an earlier filing date, that has recently appeared on PACER.
- Ojeda v. Department of Veterans Affairs (filed Aug 22, 2019)
Richard Ojeda submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning the agency’s report of its investigation of unauthorized access to veterans’ medical records, including those of Ojeda. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and contacted Ojeda several times to discuss his request, including the submission of a new request. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, Ojeda filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
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