MARTIN v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE and 20 other new FOIA lawsuits
We have added 80 documents from 17 FOIA cases filed between August 12, 2018 and August 18, 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.
- MARTIN v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 12, 2018)
Lerone Martin, a professor of religion and politics at Washington University, submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning Billy Graham. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Martin filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - PAUL v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 13, 2018)
Peter Paul submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records about himself. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Paul filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - Picardi v. U.S. Attorney's Offices, Pierre et al (filed Aug 13, 2018)
Edward Picardi submitted FOIA requests to the Executive Office for U.S Attorneys for records concerning himself. After the agency failed to respond, Picardi filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - Kopp v. United States Secret Service (filed Aug 14, 2018)
Quentin Kopp, a former California State Senator, submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Secret Service for records concerning the number of employees that accompanied Donald Trump, Jr. on his trip to India and the costs incurred. The agency told Kopp that his request was too broad and that he should narrow the scope of the request. Kopp sent a letter to the agency arguing that his request was not too broad. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Kopp filed suit.
Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Request – Specificity - Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Forest Service (filed Aug 15, 2018)
The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Forest Service for records concerning special use permits for Columbine cabins on Mount Graham. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told the Center that it would start processing its request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the Center filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - FREEDOM WATCH, INC. v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (filed Aug 15, 2018)
Freedom Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning collaboration and/or communications between the agency and the Southern Poverty Law Center since 2008. After hearing nothing further from agency, Freedom Watch filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - LOVINGER v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (filed Aug 15, 2018)
Adam Lovinger, who served as a senior director at the National Security Council from January to May 2017 and formerly a DOD employee, submitted a FOIA/PA request to the Department of Defense’s Consolidated Adjudications Facility pertaining to a whistleblower complaint he had filed. He asked for emails containing his name sent by three named individuals. The agency told Lovinger that it had found 75 responsive pages but was withholding them entirely under a variety of FOIA and Privacy Act exemptions. The individual making that determination was the individual Lovinger had accused in his whistleblower complaint. Lovinger filed an administrative appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Lovinger filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - SAVAGE v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (filed Aug 15, 2018)
Len Savage, a manufacturer of gun accessories, submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning shootings committed with the use of a bump-stock, particularly the shooting in Las Vegas. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and divided it into two separate requests. The agency told Savage that its records systems were not set up in such a way that it could search for his request for records concerning the use of bump-stocks in crimes. As to the Las Vegas shooting, the FBI denied records under Exemption 7(A) (ongoing investigation or proceeding). Savage filed administrative appeals of both decisions, but they were affirmed on appeal. Savage then filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - Little v. Wilkie et al (filed Aug 15, 2018)
Bessie Little filed suit against the Department of Veterans Affairs, claiming it had failed to disclose her records under FOIA.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - Snyders Heart Valve LLC v. United States Patent and Trademark Office (filed Aug 15, 2018)
Snyders Heart Value LLC submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for records concerning four inter-party review petitions captioned St. Jude Medical v. Snyders Heart Valve. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Snyders Heart Value and estimated the cost of processing the request at $540. The agency then took an extension of time to process the request, locating 3,000 responsive pages. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Snyders Heart Valve filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fees – Commitment to pay, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Center for Biological Diversity v. US Fish and Wildlife Service (filed Aug 16, 2018)
The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for records concerning the potential impact to the spring pygmy sunfish from a new auto plant on the outskirts of Huntsville, Alabama. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and indicated that it would start processing it. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the Center filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - FRIENDS OF THE EARTH v. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR (filed Aug 16, 2018)
Friends of the Earth submitted FOIA requests to the Department of the Interior for records concerning ethics agreements with several political appointees. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Friends of the Earth filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 16, 2018)
The ACLU submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Marshals Service for records concerning policies to shackle adults and juveniles. The ACLU also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The ACLU contacted the agency several times to check on the status of its request. The ACLU was told that its request was still being processed and would take months to complete. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the ACLU filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (filed Aug 16, 2018)
The Natural Resources Defense Council submitted a FOIA request to the EPA for records concerning communications between the agency and outside parties pertaining to the pesticide TCVP since June 2016. NRDC also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told NRDC that responding to the request would not incur fees. The agency told NRDC that it was processing its request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NRDC filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index, Public Interest Fee Waiver - Singh et al v. U.S. Department of State et al (filed Aug 16, 2018)
Gurnek Singh and Pawan Deep Kaur submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning an I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative filed by Singh in 2010 on behalf of his wife and why the petition was denied in 2015. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Singh and Kaur filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - PROPERTY OF THE PEOPLE, INC. et al v. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Aug 17, 2018)
Property of the People and researcher Ryan Shapiro submitted FOIA requests to the Department of State for records on Cambridge Analytica and Russian interference with 20106 election. Property of the People and Shapiro directed their request specifically to the Russia Malign Influence Group. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Property of the People that its request was too broad to search. Property of the People filed an administrative appeal of that decision and a separate administrative appeal of the agency’s failure to search and respond to the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Property of the People and Shapiro filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Behar v. Department of Homeland Security (filed Aug 17, 2018)
Richard Behar, a contributing editor to Forbes, submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Secret Service in 2017 for records concerning individuals screened by the agency prior to the 2016 election because they wanted to visit Donald Trump or others associated with his campaign. After the agency failed to respond, Behar filed suit and the court set guidelines for the agency’s search. The agency then told Behar it found no responsive records and told Behar to file a new request that would include dates after Trump became President. Behar filed a new request and the agency told Behar it had found responsive records. However, it withheld the records under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy) and Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records). Behar filed an administrative appeal, which was denied. Behar then filed suit.
Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees
In addition, we have added 6 documents from 4 cases, with earlier filing dates, that have recently appeared on PACER.
- Royal v. City of Atlanta et al (filed Aug 10, 2018)
- BALDWIN v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (filed Aug 9, 2018)
- PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, INC. et al v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE et al (filed Aug 9, 2018)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for records concerning the removal of information from Animal Welfare Act investigations on the agency’s website, as well as the identifying information. PETA also requested fee waivers. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, PETA filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver - Axe Murderer Tours Guam, Inc. v. United States Department of Air Force (filed Aug 8, 2018)
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