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U.S. RIGHT TO KNOW v. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH and 10 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

by Harry Hammitt on November 11th, 2020

We have added 87 documents from 11 FOIA cases filed between November 1, 2020 and November 7, 2020. 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. U.S. RIGHT TO KNOW v. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (filed Nov 5, 2020)
    US Right to Know submitted a FOIA request to the National Institutes of Health for records concerning communications between federal employees mentioning keywords, such as Wuhan Institute of Virology. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied the request under Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding). US Right to Know filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further from the agency, US Right to Know filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  2. Rivera v. Barr et al (filed Nov 5, 2020)
    Maria Nancy Medina Rivera submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning her alien file. She also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied her request for expedited processing. Rivera submitted a second FOIA request to USCIS for her alien file, particularly documentation about her ex-husband. She requested expedited processing for the request as well. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but denied her request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Rivera filed suit.
    Issues: Expedited processing, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  3. The Intercept et al v. Department of Defense et al (filed Nov 2, 2020)
    Lee Fang, a reporter for The Intercept, submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security and six other agencies for records concerning reports filed under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act for all officials appointed under the statute from January 2017 to the present. Fang also requested a fee waiver. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Fang and The Intercept filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  4. PUBLIC CITIZEN v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (filed Nov 2, 2020)
    Public Citizen submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Labor for records concerning CY 2019 Form 300A data submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration through the Injury Tracking Application. Public Citizen also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but 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
  5. NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (filed Nov 2, 2020)
    The Natural Resources Defense Council submitted two FOIA requests to the EPA for records concerning communications and correspondence about the pesticide SurfaceWise2 between the agency and the Texas Department of Agriculture, American Airlines, Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine, and/or Allied BioSciences. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NRDC filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
  6. Linn County v. United States Forest Service et al (filed Nov 2, 2020)
    Linn County submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Forest Service for records concerning the Beachie Creek Fire. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Linn County filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  7. Carson v. U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (filed Nov 2, 2020)
    Joseph Carson submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board for records concerning the treatment of his whistleblower complaint. Carson also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but denied Carson’s request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Carson filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
  8. JOSEPH v. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (filed Nov 3, 2020)
    Bernard Joseph submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Army for records concerning email communications between Army G-1 and Defense Finance and Accounting System pertaining to Joseph’s military pay entitlements. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and referred the request for processing. However, the HRC Fort Knox FOIA office subsequently told Joseph that it did not have his request. Joseph filed an administrative appeal but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Joseph filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
  9. MEDINA v. NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU et al (filed Nov 3, 2020)
    Thomas Medina submitted FOIA requests to the National Guard Bureau and the Department of the Air Force for records concerning his involuntary removal from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. The NGB told Medina that many of the responsive records were maintained by the Air Force. After hearing nothing further from the agency Medina filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  10. MURDER ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Nov 4, 2020)
    The Murder Accountability Project submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records on the primary jurisdiction or the lead investigative group for murders and other violent crimes. MAP also sent similar requests to the National Park Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The agencies acknowledged of the requests but after hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, MAP filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  11. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION v. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT et al (filed Nov 6, 2020)
    The American Civil Liberties Union submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning the agency’s response to COVID-19 in immigration detention facilities. The ACLU also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the ACLU filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver

From → FOIA, PACER

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