CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. EGGLESTON et al and 12 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 155 documents from 13 FOIA cases filed between May 8, 2016 and May 14, 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. CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. EGGLESTON et al (filed May 9, 2016)
   Cause of Action filed suit against Neil Eggleston, the White House Counsel, and a number of agencies, claiming that the White House memo issued in 2009 by then White House Counsel Greg Craig reminding agencies to contact the White House when processing FOIA requests that contained EOP-generated information had resulted in improper delays for some Cause of Action FOIA requests and that the policy was a violation of FOIA.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. CORNUCOPIA INSTITUTE v. AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (filed May 9, 2016)
   The Cornucopia Institute submitted a FOIA request to the Agricultural Marketing Service for the investigative files on five operations. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and indicated that the request was being processed. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the Cornucopia Institute filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. RICHARDSON v. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (filed May 9, 2016)
   Edward Richardson, a former employee of the Federal Reserve, filed what he styled as a Privacy Act/Freedom of Information Act suit against the agency alleging that it had improperly disclosed information in violation of the Privacy Act. Although he refers to each claim as being brought under the Privacy Act/Freedom of Information Act, all his claims appear to relate to the Privacy Act and none of them state a claim under FOIA. As a result, this is not a FOIA suit.
   Issues: FOIA mentioned only tangentially
4. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed May 10, 2016)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for any records indicating whether high-ranking agency officials used alias email addresses. 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
5. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed May 10, 2016)
   Judicial Watch submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of State for records concerning talking points that were allegedly emailed to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by staff member Jacob Sullivan in which Sullivan was instructed to turn the talking points into “non-paper” form and send them by non-secure email. The second request was for records concerning statements made by State Department spokesman John Kirby indicating that the agency had investigated the allegations and found that no such email had been sent to Clinton. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, 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
6. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY v. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (filed May 10, 2016)
   Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Geological Survey for records concerning the management of animal care and use program at the National Wildlife Health Center. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. PEER contacted the agency to check on the status of the request and the agency said it had not yet started processing the request. PEER then filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further from the agency, PEER filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. Lamon v. National Transportation Safety Board (filed May 11, 2016)
   Bruce Lamon submitted a FOIA request to the National Transportation Safety Board for records concerning radar tracking of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 at the time it crashed in 2014 and any other radar tracking of unidentified aircraft in the vicinity of where the plane was flying. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Lamon filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Recovery of Costs
8. Whitson v. United States Forest Service (filed May 12, 2016)
   Kathy Whitson submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Forest Service for records pertaining to an employee misconduct investigation in the Jicarilla Ranger District of the Carson National Forest. Whitson was the individual whose complaint instigated the investigation. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Whitson filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (filed May 12, 2016)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Air Force for records concerning flights taken by members of Congress to Cuba. 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
10. ATKINSON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (filed May 12, 2016)
    Nathan Atkinson submitted a FOIA request to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for detailed records concerning Ford vehicles. The agency released 4,600 records to Atkinson and withheld records under Exemption 4 (confidential business information) and Exemption 5 (privileges). Atkinson appealed the denial and the agency disclosed an additional 145 pages and provided more information from 193 pages previously disclosed. Atkinson then filed suit.
    Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. High Sierra Hikers Association, Inc., v. National Park Service (filed May 13, 2016)
    The High Sierra Hikers Association submitted a FOIA request to the National Park Service for records concerning the agency’s Wilderness Stewardship Plan for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The agency provided an interim response, but withheld some records. The Association continued to pursue the request, but was never able to get the agency to provide a complete response, which would have provided a right of appeal. The Association then filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
12. COMMITTEE FOR EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT, LLC et al v. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (filed May 13, 2016)
    The Committee for Efficient Government and Kenneth Hemmerle submitted three FOIA requests to the IRS. The first request was for records related to a report by the Inspector General for Tax Administration which found that the IRS was losing millions of dollars as the result of tax fraud. The Committee requested a fee waiver, which was denied. Instead, the agency requested a payment of $1 million to process the request. The Committee made a second FOIA request for a report showing the number of FOIA requests for which fees were charged. The agency declined to provide the report, telling the Committee that it was available publicly online. The third request asked for records concerning FOIA requests for which the agency requested fee deposits. The agency denied the Committee’s fee waiver request and indicated that the request would cost more than $500 to process. The Committee appealed the decisions, which were upheld by the agency. The Committee then filed suit.
    Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
13. Diagnostic Imaging Group et al v. Health and Human Services Department of (filed May 13, 2016)
    The Diagnostic Imaging Group submitted a FOIA request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for records of all Physician Quality Reporting System reports the agency had received concerning Diagnostic Imaging for 2013 and 2014. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Diagnostic Imaging Group filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index