Poulsen v. Office of the Director of National Intelligence and 7 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 41 documents from 8 FOIA cases filed between March 25, 2018 and March 31, 2018. 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. Poulsen v. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (filed Mar 26, 2018)
   Journalist Kevin Poulsen submitted a FOIA request to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for five semi-annual reports prepared by the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community. Poulsen also requested a fee waiver. The agency did not acknowledge receipt of Poulsen’s email requests and he sent the request through the U.S. Postal Service, which confirmed his request had been received at the agency. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Poulsen filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. American Small Business League v. Department of Defense (filed Mar 30, 2018)
   The American Small Business League submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of Defense for the master comprehensive subcontracting plan submitted by BAE System. The agency responded by providing a heavily redacted copy of the plan. ASBL filed an administrative appeal, but heard nothing further from the agency. ASBL’s second FOIA request was for the master comprehensive subcontracting plan submitted by GE Aviation. The agency indicated that some information would be withheld under Exemption 4 (confidential business information). ASBL filed an administrative appeal of that decision, but after hearing nothing further from the agency as its appeals of both requests, ASBL filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
3. Human Rights Watch v. Department of Homeland Security et al (filed Mar 26, 2018)
   Human Rights Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records from the Asylum Division at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services referring to due process violations or other alleged misconduct by Customs and Border Patrol agents. Human Rights Watch also requested a fee waiver. The agency disclosed 229 pages, 175 of which were heavily redacted. Human Rights Watch filed an administrative appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Human Rights Watch filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. DEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Mar 27, 2018)
   Democracy Forward Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning an unscheduled October 4, 2017 press conference held by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. DFF also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, DFF filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
5. PUBLIC CITIZEN, INC. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (filed Mar 28, 2018)
   Public Citizen submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Education for records concerning the agency’s TEACH Grant program, which provides grants up to $4,000 a year for teachers pursuing higher education to work as teachers. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency provided an interim response consisting of 1,026 unredacted pages described as TEACH Grant documents. After Public Citizen inquired about its response, the agency told Public Citizen that the disclosure was actually meant to be its final response rather than an interim response. Public Citizen filed an administrative appeal, arguing that the search was inadequate. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Public Citizen filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. SEARLE v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (filed Mar 28, 2018)
   Robert Searle submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Army for records concerning a contract with the Tank Automotive Armament Command. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Searle filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
7. Nye-Wilson v. U.S. Department of Education (filed Mar 26, 2018)
   Carol Nye-Wilson submitted multiple FOIA requests to the Department of Education for records on a variety of topics. When the agency failed to respond to most of her requests, Nye-Wilson filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
8. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Mar 29, 2018)
   Judicial Watch submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice and the Department of State for records concerning the company Uranium One. Both agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from either agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index