62 new FOIA court documents, plus case descriptions

We have added 62 documents from 10 FOIA cases filed between June 1, 2014 and June 7, 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. Gahagan v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (filed Jun 2, 2014)
   Michael Gahagan, an immigration attorney, made a request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for the alien file of his client, Narinder Singh, who was subject to removal proceedings. After the agency failed to respond within the statutory time limit, Gahagan filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, disclosure of all non-exempt records, attorney’s fees, attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act
2. Paulin v. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (filed Jun 3, 2014)
   Dirk Paulin submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for records concerning the HOPE VI project to revitalize the St. Thomas housing development in New Orleans. The agency acknowledged receipt of his request and asked for clarification. However, after providing the clarification requested by the agency, Paulin heard nothing further from the agency and filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, disclosure of all records, attorney’s fees
3. The New York Times Company et al v. United States Department of Justice (filed Jun 3, 2014)
   New York Times reporter Charlie Savage submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for a number of specific documents concerning the government’s surveillance activities and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The National Security Division of the Justice Department acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the New York Times filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, conduct adequate search, disclosure of records within 20 days of court order, attorney’s fees
4. AGILITY PUBLIC WAREHOUSING COMPANY K.S.C. v. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY (filed Jun 4, 2014)
   Agility Public Warehousing Company, a Kuwaiti logistics company, had several Defense Department contracts to provide food to U.S. troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Jordan from 2003 through 2010. Based on the revelations about the extent of surveillance by the National Security Agency, PWC submitted a FOIA request to the agency for any records pertaining to surveillance of their communications between 2003 through 2010. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after the time limit for responding expired, PWC wrote to the NSA appeals officer to appeal the failure to respond. The agency acknowledged receipt of PWC’s appeal, but took no further action. PWC then filed suit.
   Issues: disclosure of records, expeditious proceedings, attorney’s fees
5. Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick, Ltd. v. Gibson (filed Jun 4, 2014)
   The law firm of Chisholm, Chisholm & Kirkpatrick submitted a request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for a client’s C-file pertaining to disability claims. After hearing nothing further concerning the request, the law firm filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further about the appeal, the law firm filed suit.
   Issues: immediate disclosure of all records, expedited proceedings, attorney’s fees, demand for jury trial if necessary
6. CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jun 5, 2014)
   CREW submitted a request to the FBI, EOUSA, and the Criminal Division of the Justice Department for records concerning the investigation of Angelo Mozilo and Countrywide Financial for financial improprieties during the mortgage crisis, including the agency’s decision not to prosecute Mozilo. After none of the components responded to CREW’s request within the statutory limit, CREW filed suit.
   Issues: conduct adequate search, immediate disclosure of all responsive records, expeditious proceedings, attorney’s fees
7. CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (filed Jun 5, 2014)
   The Center for Food Safety submitted a request to the Department of Agriculture for records concerning genetically-engineered oranges and all other genetically-engineered citrus fruits. The agency contacted CFS and suggested that it narrow the scope of the request. However, after some back and forth correspondence, the agency failed to provide records it had indicated it would disclose shortly and CFS filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, expeditious disclosure of responsive records, attorney’s fees
8. BAUER v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY et al (filed Jun 6, 2014)
   Shane Bauer, one of three American students detained by Iran for improperly entering the country while hiking and later released, submitted FOIA requests to the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of State for records concerning the actions taken by the U.S. government in relation to the detention of the three students. Bauer indicated that he intended to write an article for Mother Jones based on the records he received. His requests to the CIA included Privacy Act waivers from the students and asked for expedited processing and a fee waiver. The CIA denied his request for expedited processing and a fee waiver and responded to his request by issuing a Glomar response neither confirming nor denying the existence of records under Exemption 1 (national security) and Exemption 3 (other statutes). Bauer filed an administrative appeal to the CIA’s denial. Bauer’s requests to the FBI asked for expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency denied his request for expedited processing and he appealed the denial to the Office of Information Policy. OIP upheld the FBI’s denial, but the FBI did not respond further to his request. Bauer’s requests to the State Department asked for expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency granted his request for a fee waiver, but denied his request for expedited processing. The agency did not respond further to his request. Bauer then filed suit against all three agencies.
   Issues: improper withholding, disclosure of all records on expedited basis, enjoin CIA from refusing to accept appeals of denials for expedited processing, attorney’s fees
9. AGOLLI v. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL (filed Jun 6, 2014)
   Anna Maria Agolli filed a complaint in 2006 concerning an incident at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in 2001. She made several follow-up FOIA requests to the Office of Inspector General. Dissatisfied with both the handling of her original complaint and her FOIA requests, Agolli submitted a request for records concerning her complaint to the Office of Information Policy. After hearing nothing further from OIP, Agolli filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, tolling of statute of limitations, minimum award of $1 million in punitive damages
10. Altemus v. US Department of Veteran Affairs (filed Jun 6, 2014)
    William Altemus submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning a benefit claim. After the agency failed to respond, he filed an administrative appeal. The agency had not responded to his administrative appeal and Altemus filed suit. Although his suit is based on FOIA and contains a cause of action under FOIA, his complaint consists of a number of allegations against the VA that have nothing to do with FOIA.
    Issues: expedited processing, disclosure of records, costs, sanctions