Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, Inc. v. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and 9 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

We have added 45 documents from 10 FOIA cases filed between January 3, 2016 and January 9, 2016. 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. Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, Inc. v. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (filed Jan 7, 2016)
   Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest submitted a FOIA request to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for records concerning an inspection conducted by the agency of the biolabs at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied the request under Exemption 3 (other statutes), citing the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act. The Center appealed the agency’s decision and the agency upheld its denial. The Center then filed suit, arguing that the relevant provisions of the Bioterrorism Act required the agency to redact only protected information, not entire records.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Segregability analysis
2. Retained Risk Managers LLC v. Internal Revenue Service (filed Jan 4, 2016)
   Retained Risk Managers, a business being audited by the IRS, submitted a FOIA request to the IRS for records concerning the agency’s audit investigation of the company. The IRS responded that it had no records and Retained Risk Managers filed an administrative appeal, which the agency upheld. The agency then identified 177 responsive pages and withheld 115 pages under Exemption 3 (other statutes). The agency’s letter also suggested mediation to resolve the dispute. Retained Risk Managers filed a complaint with the Office of Government Information Services, but after seven months OGIS informed Retained Risk Managers that the IRS was unwilling to mediate the dispute. Retained Risk Managers then filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
3. Spadaro v. United States Customs and Border Protection et al (filed Jan 4, 2016)
   Saro Spadaro, an Italian citizen living in St. Maarten engaged in the hotel/tourism and real estate investment business, submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of State, and the FBI for records indicating why he has been prevented from entering the United States. Spadaro’s father had been identified as having Mafia connections, but Spadaro indicated he himself had no Mafia connection. However, he came to believe that the FBI was the source of the derogatory information about him that prevented him from entering the U.S. He submitted FOIA requests to the FBI, State, CBP, and CIS. The FBI issued a Glomar response neither confirming nor denying the existence of records, citing Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding) as the basis of its claim. Spadaro appealed the decision, which was upheld. CIS also responded, providing 32 records with redactions made under Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records) and Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods and techniques). Spadaro appealed the decision which was upheld by the agency. Neither CBP nor the State Department responded to Spadaro’s request beyond acknowledging receipt of the requests. Spadaro then filed suit against all four agencies.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – In camera review, Litigation – Vaughn index
4. Murphy v. United States Department of Agriculture et al (filed Jan 5, 2016)
   Dennis Murphy, a conservation biologist and author, submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Forest Service for records to or from two identified agency employees who were involved in the Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project. Murphy also requested a fee waiver, which the agency denied. Murphy appealed the denial of his fee waiver request, which was subsequently granted. The agency located 539 pages. It withheld 217 pages in full and 134 pages in part, citing Exemption 5 (privileges) and Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Murphy appealed the agency’s decision, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Murphy filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fees, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – In camera review
5. KAYE v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (filed Jan 5, 2016)
   Allen Kaye, an attorney, submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for a copy of the Petition for Alien Relative filed by his client. After hearing nothing from the agency, Kaye filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
6. Muhlbeier et al (filed Jan 5, 2016)
   Jack Muhlbeier, Kelli Savering and Josh Savering submitted a FOIA request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for records of communications between FEMA and the City of Mansfield, Texas pertaining to a Floodplain Development Permit requesting a permit to build a pedestrian bridge at the Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency later indicated that it had finished processing some of the responsive records, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Muhlbeier and the Saverings filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Jurisdiction – Failure to Respond
7. Stone v. Department of Housing and Urban Development (filed Jan 5, 2016)
   Gerald Stone submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice for records concerning any agreements between Community Housing Fund of Irving, Texas and various agencies for houses purchased in revitalization areas from 1999-2001. Justice told Stone it had no records and referred the request to HUD. HUD did not respond and Stone filed an administrative appeal of its failure to respond. HUD did not respond to Stone’s appeal and Stone filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
8. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jan 6, 2016)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. 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
9. Baser v. Department of Defense (filed Jan 6, 2016)
   Onur Baser submitted a FOIA request to the Defense Health Agency for various databases maintained by the agency. He indicated that he was willing to pay up to $50,000 in fees. He then emailed the agency to clarify the datasets and variables he was seeking. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Baser filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
10. Jarrell v. McDonald et al (filed Jan 6, 2016)
    Stephen Jarrell submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning the summary of evidence the agency used in making a determination concerning Jarrell in 1979. After hearing nothing from the agency, Jarrell filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit