JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE and 5 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

We have added 51 documents from 6 FOIA cases filed between November 29, 2015 and December 5, 2015. 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. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (filed Dec 2, 2015)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at the Department of Commerce for records concerning the use of various temperature data. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after the agency failed to respond within the statutory time limits, Judicial Watch filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
2. DAVIS v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Dec 1, 2015)
   Eugene Davis, a federal prisoner, submitted FOIA requests to various components of the Department of Justice for records about himself and his conviction. When none of the agencies responded, Davis filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
3. Davidson et al v. Federal Bureau of Prisons (filed Dec 1, 2015)
   Clifton Davidson and Alfred Jennings, two federal prisoners, complained that the federal correctional institution in Lexington, KY where they were incarcerated routinely underpaid them for their work. While the complaint is largely focused on the allegation that the prison underpaid inmates, Davidson also alleged that he submitted a FOIA request for documents concerning the prison’s pay committee. He received some records but apparently was dissatisfied enough that he included the FOIA claim as one of eight claims in the lawsuit he and Jennings filed against the agency.
   Issues: FOIA mentioned only tangentially
4. Murphy v. U. S. Customs and Border Protection (filed Dec 4, 2015)
   Dennis Murphy, a security guard at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection training facility in Harper’s Ferry, submitted a FOIA request to the agency for records about himself. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Murphy filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit
5. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed Dec 1, 2015)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Transportation Security Administration for travel records of former Deputy Administrator John Halinski from July 2012 – July 2014. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after the agency failed to respond within the statutory time limits, Judicial Watch filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
6. HENDRIX v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES et al (filed Dec 3, 2015)
   Glenn Hendrix, an attorney representing nursing home facilities, submitted seven FOIA requests to the Department of Health and Human Services for records pertaining to a report issued by the Office of the Inspector General at the agency concerning questionable billing practices by skilled nursing facilities and the role played by the OIG in preparing the report. His requests were sent primarily to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but several also were sent to the OIG. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests and either indicated that responding to the request would take longer than 20 days or did not respond at all. Hendrix appealed the delay, but that appeal was not resolved by the time he filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees