CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE and 15 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 109 documents from 16 FOIA cases filed between October 14, 2018 and October 20, 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. CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Oct 15, 2018)
   Cause of Action Institute submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning Executive Order 13,457. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and various components provided records. The Office of Information Policy located 143 pages. It disclosed 32 pages entirely and 11 pages with redactions labeled “non-responsive. OIP also withheld 71 pages under Exemption 5 (privileges). COA filed an administrative appeal arguing that OIP had improperly separated portions of documents into separate records. OIP denied COA’s appeal. COA then filed suit.
   Issues: Agency Record, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. BUZZFEED INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Oct 15, 2018)
   Buzzfeed submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning its Religious Liberty Task Force. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Buzzfeed filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. BUZZFEED INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Oct 15, 2018)
   Buzzfeed submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of State for records concerning Jared Kushner. Buzzfeed’s first FOIA request was for communications from the U.S. Embassy in Israel referencing Kushner, while the second request asked for communications from U.S. Embassies in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Mexico, Venezuela, China, and Japan. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests and asked Buzzfeed to clarify the scope of its second request. Buzzfeed did so, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Buzzfeed filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. Southern Environmental Law Center v. Federal Aviation Administration (filed Oct 15, 2018)
   The Southern Environmental Law Center submitted two FOIA requests to the FAA for records concerning the draft environmental impact statement and the hazard analysis for the proposed Spaceport Camden. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, SELC filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
5. Hardimon v. Executive Office of the U.S. Attorneys et al (filed Oct 15, 2018)
   John Hardimon, a federal prisoner, submitted a FOIA request to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for records concerning plea agreements from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois. EOUSA denied Hardimon’s request because he had waived his right to file FOIA requests in his own plea agreement. Hardimon filed an administrative appeal and the agency upheld its original decision. Hardimon then filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Jurisdiction – Failure to State a Claim
6. Calista Corporation v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (filed Oct 16, 2018)
   The Calista Corporation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning grants given by the agency to the Association of Village Counsel Presidents. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but denied the request under Exemption 7(A) (ongoing investigation or proceeding). Calista filed an administrative appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Calista filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. ACLU of Southern California v. United States Department of Homeland Security (filed Oct 16, 2018)
   The ACLU of Southern California filed a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security and its Los Angeles field office for records concerning the practice of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of misrepresenting or concealing their identity when conducting law enforcement activities. The ACLU also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted the ACLU’s request for a fee waiver. DHS referred the request to the Inspector General’s Office. That agency conducted a search and found no responsive records. After hearing nothing further from the Los Angeles field office, the ACLU of Southern California filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. Hutcheson v. United States Customs and Border Protection et al (filed Oct 16, 2018)
   Eleanor Hutcheson, a Canadian citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of State for records about herself. She told the agencies that she needed the records to respond to a request for evidence from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Hutcheson filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS et al v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (filed Oct 17, 2018)
   The American Federation of Teachers, the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Southern Poverty Law Center submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Education for records concerning communications or meetings between agency officials and the NRA and other gun-advocacy groups. The organizations also requested a fee waiver and expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, granted the fee waiver but denied expedited processing, and provided an interim response containing 15 pages. The organizations submitted a second FOIA request for records concerning inquiries from Oklahoma school officials pertaining to whether or not Title IV-A funds could be used to purchase guns. The organizations also requested a fee waiver and expedited processing. The agency acknowledged the request. The agency also denied the organizations’ expedited processing request but did not address the fee waiver request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the organizations filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Expedited processing, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
10. New York Legal Assistance Group v. Board of Immigration Appeals et al (filed Oct 17, 2018)
    The New York Legal Assistance Group submitted a FOIA request to the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Department of Justice for all unpublished Board of Appeal decisions and asked the agency to post them online. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told NYLAG that its request was too broad to search. NYLAG refused to narrow the scope of its request. EOIR then denied the request, arguing that the BIA decisions were not final opinions. NYLAG filed an administrative appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NYLAG filed suit.
    Issues: Affirmative disclosure, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (filed Oct 18, 2018)
    Cause of Action Institute submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Commerce. The first FOIA request asked for work calendars for Secretary Wilbur Ross and other senior officials. The second FOIA request asked for identifying information for employees or entities involved in reviewing requests for product exclusion from the steel and aluminum tariffs. The third request asked for communications, emails or text messages from 11 identified DOC officials containing a list of keywords. For all three requests, COA asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. The agency granted COA’s fee waiver request for the first two FOIA requests but did not make a decision as to the third FOIA request. DOC asked COA for clarification as to the scope of the third FOIA request, and COA agreed to a list of search terms proposed by the agency. After hearing nothing further from the agency as to any of the three requests, COA filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
12. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS et al (filed Oct 18, 2018)
    The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers submitted FOIA requests to the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice for records concerning policies and practices for collecting, retaining, use, or sharing of inmates’ attorney-client emails. NACDL also requested inclusion in the news media fee category. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. Both agencies told NACDL that its request qualified for unusual circumstances. After hearing nothing further from either agency, NACDL filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
13. BAKER v. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (filed Oct 18, 2018)
    Joshua Baker, an attorney, submitted a FOIA request to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for records concerning the 2015 Civil Investigative Demand issued by the agency to Zillow Group. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Baker that the cost of processing his request would be $35,000. Baker’s law firm paid the $35,000. The agency told Baker that his request was placed in the complex queue for processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Baker filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
14. Humane Society of the United States et al v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service et al (filed Oct 18, 2018)
    The Humane Society, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Born Free USA submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services for records concerning the importation of African elephant trophies. The organizations asked the agency to post such information online. After the agency failed to do so, the organizations filed suit.
    Issues: Affirmative disclosure, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
15. Satterlee v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service et al (filed Oct 19, 2018)
    Ronald Satterlee submitted FOIA requests to the IRS for records concerning notices and demands for his taxes for various years. The agency told him that any notices and demands would have been computer-generated and would not be retained by the agency. Dissatisfied by that answer, Satterlee filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
16. Greco et al v. Department of the Air Force of the United States of America, The (filed Oct 19, 2018)
    Roseanne Greco, Richard Joseph and James Leas submitted FOIA requests to the Vermont Air National Guard. The request was referred to the Department of the Air Force, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Greco, Joseph, and Leas filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Recovery of Costs