CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY and 7 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 40 documents from 5 FOIA cases filed between May 29, 2016 and June 4, 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. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (filed Jun 2, 2016)
   Cause of Action Institute submitted a FOIA request to the CIA for two Inspector General reports prepared in response to congressional inquiries into whether non-career officials at the agency had been improperly involved in the processing of FOIA requests. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further, Cause of Action submitted a second FOIA request for records related to the agency’s response to the congressional inquiries. After still hearing nothing further from the agency, Cause of Action filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
2. Harrison v. Executive Office for United States Attorneys (filed May 31, 2016)
   David Harrison, a state prisoner, submitted a FOIA request to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for records of communications sent by an Assistant U.S. Attorney in San Diego to a federal judge based on Harrison having contacted the judge by letter. The agency told Harrison that it found no records. Harrison filed an appeal with the Office of Information Policy, which upheld the agency’s decision. Harrison then filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search
3. Jaboro et al v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al (filed May 31, 2016)
   Lilyan Alsaka submitted a FOIA request through her attorney, Julius Jaboro, to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for her alien file to help understand why Alsaka, an Iraqi Christian, had been denied refugee status. The agency provided only three pages and Alsaka filed an administrative appeal challenging the delay. The agency sent the case back for processing, but after hearing further from the agency, Jaboro and Alsaka filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (filed May 31, 2016)
   Cause of Action Institute submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Army for records similar to a 1993 OMB email the Army had received concerning the use of conference calls. The agency told Cause of Action that it could find no records. Cause of Action appealed the agency’s response, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Cause of Action filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
5. DALAL v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed May 31, 2016)
   Aakash Dalal submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Justice. All his requests were denied and those denials were upheld on appeal. Dalal also submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but took no further action. Dalal then filed suit against both departments.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

In addition, we have added 23 documents from 3 cases, with earlier filing dates, that have recently appeared on PACER.

1. Ruth Musser-Lopez v. James G. Kenna et al (filed May 27, 2016)
   Ruth Musser-Lopez, a former archeologist with the Bureau of Land Management and now a volunteer with American Rock Art Association, submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Land Management for records concerning communications between the agency’s current field archeologist and members of the ARAA. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further, Musser-Lopez filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing more, she filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. Human Resources Technologies, Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Air Force (filed May 27, 2016)
   Human Resources Technologies submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Air Force for records concerning a purchase order for EONet software to Intelligent Decisions, Inc. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Human Resources Technologies that its request was being transferred to another office. After making further inquiries concerning the status of the request, Human Resources Technologies filed an administrative appeal because of the agency’s failure to respond. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Human Resources Technologies filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
3. Gray v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (filed May 25, 2016)
   Jim Gray submitted a FOIA request to the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority for records concerning an incident in which he was stopped in Maryland and ticketed by two Metro Transit police officers. The agency responded to his request, but redacted personal information from the records. Gray complained that under Maryland law the names of police officers who issue a citation must be on the ticket. Gray then filed suit.
   Issues: Exemption 7(C) – Invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records