FREEDOM WATCH, INC. v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al and 28 other new FOIA lawsuits
We have added 141 documents from 28 FOIA cases filed between August 21, 2016 and September 10, 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.
- FREEDOM WATCH, INC. v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Aug 30, 2016)
Freedom Watch submitted FOIA requests to the FBI and the Office of the Attorney General for records concerning the agency’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton for misuse of a private email server while she was Secretary of State. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Freedom Watch filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - The New York Times Company et al v. U.S. Department Of Justice (filed Sep 8, 2016)
New York Times reporter Charlie Savage submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Justice. The first request was for the report of an interagency task force on detainee disposition. The agency told Savage that the report was the subject of litigation by the International Counsel Bureau representing detainees and the agency would not be able to respond until January 2016. The ICB litigation was dismissed, but the agency had not responded to Savage’s request by the time he filed suit. Savage’s second request was for a report concerning the wireless surveillance program during the Bush administration. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but had not responded by the time Savage filed suit. His third request was made to the FBI for unreleased documents pertaining to orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court identified by Judge John Bates in rulings he made in 2011. That request had not been responded to by the time the New York Times filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Ives v. USA et al (filed Aug 24, 2016)
Linda Ives submitted FOIA requests to the CIA, the FBI, the DEA and a number of other federal and state agencies for records concerning the death of her son Keith 29 years earlier as the result of a drug deal gone bad. The FBI located a number of documents and released more than 700 pages, referring many pages to DEA for direct response. Ives appealed some decisions, but ultimately filed suit against both the federal and state agencies.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Smith v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement et al (filed Aug 24, 2016)
Jennifer Smith, an immigration attorney, submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records about her client. The agency referred the request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Smith then filed a follow-up request to ICE for records concerning her client. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Smith filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - HUNTER MATHIS v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 23, 2016)
Eric Hunter Mathis, a prisoner in Georgia, submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning his own possessions that had apparently been seized or stolen. There is no indication that Mathis actually followed the appropriate procedures for making a request, but claiming he had exhausted his administrative remedies, he filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - ARENAS GONZALES v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (filed Aug 24, 2016)
Ismael Arenas Gonzalez, a federal prisoner, submitted FOIA requests to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for records concerning his case. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Arenas Gonzalez filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM v. UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (filed Aug 24, 2016)
The Federation for American Immigration Reform submitted multiple FOIA requests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning a variety of issues. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, FAIR filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - LANDAVERDE v. RODRIGUEZ et al (filed Aug 23, 2016)
Ismael Landaverde is a Salvadoran national suffering from dementia and living with his sister in Maine. His sister, who is his legal guardian, submitted a FOIA request through counsel to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records about his immigration status. The agency denied the request based on its decision that Landaverde was incapable of providing authentication of his identity and that his sister’s guardianship was temporary. Landaverde then filed suit.
Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Spurgin v. USCIS (filed Aug 26, 2016)
Stephen Spurgin submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning his client Carlos Alonzo-Valenzuela, who is currently in an immigration detention center in Virginia, for records concerning his client. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and asked for a ten-day extension. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Spurgin filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - The Engineered Metals Company, LLC v. The U.S. Department of the Navy (filed Aug 24, 2016)
The Engineered Metals Company, a subcontractor of Anthony & Gordon Construction Company, which had been awarded a contract with the Department of Navy for work pertaining to an aircraft corrosion control facility in Corpus Christi, submitted a FOIA request to the Navy when A&G Construction failed to pay Engineered Metals for its work. The request asked for records concerning payments made by the Navy to A&G Construction. The Navy provided records to Engineered Metals, but withheld information under Exemption 4 (confidential business information). Engineered Metals appealed the agency’s decision and its appeal was granted. The agency disclosed another document, but after the agency failed to produce any more records, Engineered Metals, filed suit.
Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees - White v. Department of Justice et al (filed Aug 25, 2016)
William White, a federal prisoner, submitted FOIA requests to the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Marshals Service for records about himself. He received more than 18,000 pages from the FBI, but was unsuccessful in getting records from the other two agencies. He appealed the agencies’ decision to administratively close his requests and after hearing nothing further from the agencies, White filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - Ali-X v. Gilmore et al (filed Aug 26, 2016)
Kareem Ali-X, who was arrested and convicted of racketeering charges in Florida, filed suit against Pamela Gilmore and the Santa Rosa County Attorney’s Office to obtain records that were seized and used during his trial. Ali-X cites a variety of constitutional claims, as well as the Freedom of Information Act, but there is no indication that he actually made a FOIA request for the records.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - Steinbuch v. University of Arkansas et al (filed Aug 30, 2016)
Robert Steinbuch submitted a request made under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act to the University of Arkansas for information concerning the LSAT scores of individuals who had been submitted to the University of Arkansas Law School. Dissatisfied with the University’s response, Steinbuch filed suit in state court in Arkansas. Although his complaint cites a violation of the Arkansas FOIA, he also filed suit in federal court as well.
Issues: FOIA not mentioned - Oliveira v. Jewell et al (filed Aug 31, 2016)
John Oliveira believed the Bureau of Indian Affairs had improperly disclosed personal information about him. He submitted a number of FOIA requests to the agency for records concerning his allegations, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Oliveira filed suit under the Privacy Act, the Federal Torts Claim Act and the FOIA.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Friends of the River v. United States Army Corps of Engineers et al (filed Sep 1, 2016)
The Friends of the River, an organization advocating for preservation of California rivers, submitted a series of FOIA requests to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concerning the operation and maintenance of Englebright and Daguerre Point dams on the Yuba River. The agency rejected Friends of the River’s FOIA requests for a variety of procedural reasons. The organization appealed, but after the agency failed to respond to most of the appeals, the Friends of the River filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE v. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Aug 30, 2016)
The American Center for Law and Justice submitted a multi-part FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians in Iraq. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, American Center for Law and Justice filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - SATTER v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Aug 29, 2016)
David Satter, a Fellow at the Hudson Institute, submitted FOIA requests to the FBI, the Department of State, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the CIA for records concerning the 1999 bombing of Russian apartment buildings in Moscow, Buynaksk, and Volgodonsk. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, Satter filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - White v. Office of the Federal Defender (filed Aug 29, 2016)
William White, a federal prisoner, submitted a FOIA request to the Office of the Federal Defender for records that were referred to in records he had received from the FBI pursuant to a previous FOIA request. The agency acknowledged receipt of his request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, White filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - SCHLESINGER LAW OFFICES, P.A. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES et al (filed Aug 30, 2016)
The Schlesinger Law Offices submitted a FOIA request to the FDA for records concerning communications between the agency and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company and Reynolds American concerning the companies’ marketing behavior. The agency withheld some records under Exemption 4 (confidential business information) and Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding). The Schlesinger Law Office appealed the denial, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the law firm filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - PODGORNY v. MCMONAGLE et al (filed Aug 30, 2016)
Adele Podgorny filed a class action suit against the IRS alleging the agency used false and/or manufactured records to conclude that members of the class owed taxes. Aside from asking that she be recognized as the lead plaintiff in the class action, she does not allege any claim under FOIA.
Issues: FOIA not mentioned - Ayyad et al v. Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America (filed Aug 31, 2016)
Abdelrahman and Sara Ayaad submitted a FOIA request to the IRS for any records concerning an audit of their taxes. The agency provided a CD with 2,885 pages, some of which were responsive to the Ayaads request. However, the agency did not indicate what records may have been withheld. The Ayaads appealed the agency’s response, but after hearing nothing further from agency, the Ayaads filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - Verde v. Federal Aviation Administration (filed Aug 31, 2016)
Joshua Verde submitted a FOIA request to the Federal Aviation Administration for records concerning his client Kevin Johnson. The agency withheld some records under Exemption 4 (confidential business information), Exemption 5 (privileges), and Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Verde appealed the agency’s decision, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Verde filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Rayan v. United States Social Security Administration (filed Sep 2, 2016)
Maha Rayan submitted a FOIA request to the Social Security Administration for records concerning a third party. The agency responded that it was unable to provide third-party information without the consent of the individual involved. Rayan appealed that decision, which was upheld by the agency. Rayan then filed suit, also alleging the agency failed to correct inaccurate information about her under the Privacy Act.
Issues: Litigation – Recovery of Costs - CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Sep 6, 2016)
Cause of Action submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice’s Tax Division for records concerning communications between Eileen Shatz and any DOJ attorney detailed to the White House. Cause of Action also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and the parties had some contact concerning the processing of the request. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, Cause of Action filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (filed Sep 6, 2016)
Cause of Action submitted two FOIA requests to the IRS. The first request was for communications between several employees in the agency’s Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division and three named individuals. After processing the request for nearly a year without a response, the IRS told Cause of Action it was closing its request because the records were not sufficiently described to allow the agency to conduct a search. Cause of Action contested that decision, but the agency issued a final response upholding its reason for closing the request. Cause of Action submitted a second FOIA request similar to the first but with a different time period. The agency again told Cause of Action that it could not search for the records as described. Cause of Action asked the agency to reopen its second request, but after failing to resolve the issue, Cause of Action filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - Wolcott v. Clinton et al (filed Sep 8, 2016)
Alan Wolcott filed suit against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party, and the Department of Justice claiming that he was entitled to $72 million under the False Claims Act, although it is unclear what he thinks he has done to deserve such an award. He claims that FOIA gives him a cause of action to allege bad faith on the part of the defendants, but he does not indicate that he made a FOIA request at any time. This is not a FOIA case.
Issues: FOIA mentioned only tangentially - COLBERT v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Sep 8, 2016)
Thomas Colbert submitted a request to the FBI for records concerning its investigation of D.B. Cooper, who hijacked an airplane in 1974 over Oregon and bailed out with an alleged ransom payment but was never seen again. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Colbert filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - JUDKINS v. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (filed Sep 8, 2016)
Joseph Judkins submitted a FOIA request to the IRS for records concerning several proposed rulemaking decisions during the 1980s. The agency acknowledged Judkins’ request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, he filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
In addition, we have added 1 document from 1 case, with an earlier filing date, that has recently appeared on PACER.
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