FOIA Activity: 133 new FOIA court documents, plus case descriptions

We have added 132 documents from 20 FOIA cases filed between April 7, 2019 and April 13, 2019. 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. American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (filed Apr 9, 2019)
   The ACLU of Colorado submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning the death of Kamyar Samimi, a permanent legal resident who had been detained by ICE and died in custody. The ACLU of Colorado also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and eventually provided five pages with redactions. The ACLU of Colorado filed an administrative appeal of that decision. The agency responded to the appeal by telling the ACLU of Colorado that its request was being remanded for further searching but that the circumstances surrounding Samini’s death were still under investigation, limiting the agency’s ability to search. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the ACLU of Colorado filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. WildEarth Guardians v. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement et al (filed Apr 11, 2019)
   WildEarth Guardians submitted a FOIA request to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for records concerning the organizations’ rulemaking petition to OSMRE which had been approved in 2016. WildEarth Guardians also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and subsequently told WildEarth Guardians that it was processing the request. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, WildEarth Guardians filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
3. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Apr 8, 2019)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning communications between the agency and former Acting Director Andrew McCabe pertaining to the book he wrote and published as well as any records concerning a prepublication review of the book. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Judicial Watch that it was taking a 10-day extension for responding. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
4. ECOLOGICAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION v. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (filed Apr 8, 2019)
   The Ecological Rights Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the EPA for records concerning policies and practices of the agency since the resignation of former Administrator Scott Pruitt. The Ecological Rights Foundation also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied the Foundation’s request for expedited processing. The Foundation made several attempts to check on the status of its request without success. The Ecological Rights Foundation then filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
5. AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL v. U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (filed Apr 9, 2019)
   The American Immigration Council submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning a dataset of information about all Form I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker filed from 2008 to the present. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and placed it on the agency’s simple request track. AIC submitted a second FOIA request for the same kinds of records except for I-140 Forms. The agency acknowledged receipt of both requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AIC filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. PUBLIC ADVOCATE OF THE UNITED STATES v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Apr 9, 2019)
   Public Advocates for the United States submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice and the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for records concerning a memo issued by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions requiring designation of a religious liberty point of contact in each U.S. Attorney’s Office. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the request. After hearing nothing further from EOUSA, Public Advocates filed an administrative appeal to the Office of Information Policy. OIP acknowledged receipt of the appeal but ultimately told Public Advocates that it was closing the appeal because EOUSA had not yet taken any adverse action. Public Advocates then filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
7. AFGE LOCAL 520 v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (filed Apr 9, 2019)
   Local 520 of the American Federation of Government Employees, located in Columbia, South Carolina, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning production outages or interruptions at the Veterans Benefits Administration. After Local 520 contacted the agency to check on the status of its request, the agency acknowledged receipt of the request. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, Local 520 filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. FIX THE COURT v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Apr 10, 2019)
   Fix the Court submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Marshals Service for records concerning the provision of security to Supreme Court Justices for out-of-town travel. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and provided Fix the Court with an estimated cost of $11,900 to process its request. Fix the Court filed an administrative appeal of the agency’s decision not to grant it news media fee status. On appeal, the agency granted Fix the Court news media fee status and remanded the request for search. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, Fix the Court filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. BUZZFEED INC. v. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION et al (filed Apr 10, 2019)
   BuzzFeed submitted FOIA requests to the FDA for records concerning various clinical trials. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests 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
10. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (filed Apr 10, 2019)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the National Archives and Records Administration for records contained in FBI File 100-NY-161499. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, denied Judicial Watch’s request for a fee waiver, and told Judicial Watch that it would take two years to process the records for disclosure. Judicial Watch filed an administrative appeal challenging the time estimate and the denial of Judicial Watch’s fee waiver request. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
11. NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, INC. et al v. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET (filed Apr 11, 2019)
    Sean McMinn, a data editor for National Public Radio, submitted a FOIA request to OMB for records concerning all-staff emails sent by OMB Director Mick Mulvaney from March 2017 to March 2018. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NPR filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
12. WHITE COAT WASTE PROJECT v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (filed Apr 11, 2019)
    White Coat Waste Project submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning the agency’s use of dogs in experimentation and research. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. WCW contacted the agency to check on the status of its request and was told the agency had 40 complex requests in its queue ahead of the WCW request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, WCW filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
13. CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER v. UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (filed Apr 11, 2019)
    The Campaign Legal Center submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning the agency’s attempts to get voter registration data from the State of North Carolina. CLC also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and subsequently confirmed that it was being processed. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, CLC filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
14. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed Apr 12, 2019)
    Judicial Watch submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Secret Service for records concerning security costs for three trips taken by President Trump and Melania Trump to Palm Beach, Florida, and one trip taken by President Trump to El Paso, Texas. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
15. Hartnett v. Internal Revenue Service (filed Apr 8, 2019)
    Daniel Hartnett submitted a FOIA request to the IRS for records concerning the responsibilities of a Fraud Technical Advisor. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. Hartnett tried to check the status of his request several times, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Hartnett filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
16. Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. et al v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (filed Apr 10, 2019)
    The Catholic Legal Immigration Network and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning the Alien Files for Ena Dalila Mendez Mendez and her minor daughter Wilmer Elic Martinez Mendez. The groups also requested expedited processing. The agency denied the request for Ena Mendez’s Alien file because CLIA and ASAP had not provided proof that Mendez had provided her permission for disclosure. The groups filed an administrative appeal of that decision. The agency then denied the groups’ request for Wilmer Mendez’s Alien File for the same reason. The agency also denied the groups’ request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, CLIA and ASAP filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
17. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service et al (filed Apr 8, 2019)
    The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals submitted FOIA requests to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for records concerning inspection photographs that were part of the Animal Care Information Search database. The agency acknowledged the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, ASPCA filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
18. LEOPOLD et al v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (filed Apr 8, 2019)
    BuzzFeed reporter Jason Leopold submitted a FOIA request to the CIA for records concerning U.S. payments to Syrian rebels fighting Assad, including any records related to President Trump pertaining to his tweet that the Washington Post had misrepresented his decision to end such funding. Leopold argued that Trump’s tweet constituted a public acknowledgement of the payments. Leopold also requested a fee waiver and inclusion in the news media fee category. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Leopold filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
19. Perez v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (filed Apr 9, 2019)
    Kamephis Perez submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning the investigation of a complaint he had filed against Office of the Principal Legal Advisor Chief Counsel Khalilah Taylor. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied Perez’s request under Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding). Perez filed an administrative appeal of that decision. The agency then withheld the records entirely under Exemption 5 (privileges), Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy) and Exemption 7 (law enforcement records). Perez then filed suit.
    Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees
20. ACLU of Massachusetts v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (filed Apr 10, 2019)
    The ACLU of Massachusetts submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning a speech made by ICE Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations Matthew Albence to the Legislative Affairs Committee of the 2019 Winter Legislative and Technology Conference of the National Sheriffs’ Association. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and took a 10-day extension in which to respond. After hearing nothing further from the agency, The ACLU of Massachusetts filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver

In addition, we have added 1 document from 1 case, with an earlier filing date, that has recently appeared on PACER.

• Cascade Forest Conservancy v. United States Forest Service et al (filed Apr 2, 2019)