FOIA Activity: 145 new FOIA court documents, plus case descriptions

We have added 131 documents from 19 FOIA cases filed between July 28, 2019 and August 3, 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. Collins v. United States Government (filed Jul 29, 2019)
   Charlene Collins filed suit against the United States Government for allegedly failing to help her retrieve her funds from her savings account. This is not a FOIA case.
   Issues: FOIA not mentioned
2. CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES (filed Jul 29, 2019)
   Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning communications between John Kelly during the time he served as Secretary of Homeland Security and White House Chief of Staff. CREW’s first request asked for communications between Kelly and Comprehensive Health Services, related entities, and detention facilities in Homeland, FL which housed detained migrants and was funded by the Administration for Children and Families. The agency told CREW its request was too broad and even after CREW protested, the agency ultimately closed the request. CREW’s second request asked for communications between Kelly and a list of named individuals from January 2019 to the present. The agency told CREW that it was unable to search without an email address. CREW responded that an email address was not required to conduct a search. After hearing nothing further from the agency, CREW filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. CITIZENS UNITED v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Jul 29, 2019)
   Citizens United submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of State for records. Its first FOIA request asked for communications between Jonathan Winer, and any employees of the FBI, the CIA, the Department of Defense, or the White House pertaining to a list of individuals related to the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Citizens United also requested expedited processing and inclusion in the news media fee category. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied Citizens United’s request for expedited processing. Citizens United’s second FOIA request asked for communications between Kathleen Kavalec, and any employees from the FBI, the CIA, the Defense Department or the White House pertaining to the same list of individuals related to the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Citizens United also requested expedited processing and inclusion in the news media fee category. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied Citizens United’s request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Citizens United filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
4. American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (filed Jul 29, 2019)
   The ACLU Immigrant Rights Project submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning data on removals, detentions, ICE arrests/apprehensions, ICE risk classifications, and immigration bonds. The ACLU also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told the ACLU that its request was too broad and asked if it would restrict its time frame to the last seven years. The ACLU agreed to make that clarification, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the ACLU filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jul 30, 2019)
   Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted two FOIA requests to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of Information Policy for records concerning any investigations into other individuals involved in the campaign finance violations to which Michael Cohen had pled guilty in the Southern District of New York. CREW also sought expedited processing and a fee waiver for both requests. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests and both EOUSA and OIP denied CREW’s request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from either agency, CREW filed suit.
   Issues: Expedited processing, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. BUREAU OF PRISONS et al (filed Jul 30, 2019)
   American Oversight submitted four FOIA requests to the Bureau of Prisons for records concerning leadership communications, keyword communications, and complaints pertaining to the Brooklyn Metropolitan Center. The agency acknowledged receipt of all four requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, American Oversight filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. Southeastern Legal Foundation, Inc. v. United States Department of Justice (filed Jul 30, 2019)
   The Southeastern Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning any finding that an attorney violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court rules in connection with obtaining a warrant to conduct surveillance of Carter Page. SLF also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, SLF filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
8. Gwich'in Steering Committee et al v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al (filed Jul 31, 2019)
   The Gwich’in Steering Committee, the Alaska Wilderness League, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Wilderness Society submitted FOIA requests to the Department of the Interior for records concerning the Arctic Refuge. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after the agency failed to respond further, the organizations filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. GARCIA RODRIGUEZ et al v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Jul 31, 2019)
   Arturo Garcia Rodriguez and Elidia Hernandez Jaramillo submitted FOIA requests to the Department of State for records concerning their visa applications. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. The agency located 16 pages responsive to their requests but withheld them under Exemption 3 (other statutes). Garcia Rodriguez and Hernandez Jaramillo filed administrative appeals of the denials. The agency’s Appeals Review Board told Garcia Rodriguez and Hernandez Jaramillo that it was upholding the original decision. Garcia Rodriguez and Hernandez Jaramillo then filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
10. YANOFSKY v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (filed Jul 31, 2019)
    Journalist David Yanofsky submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Commerce for data files and technical documentation related to the agency’s I-92 and I-94 programs pertaining to international air travel. The agency initially denied Yanofsky’s requests, claiming they were not available through FOIA because of a superseding statute. However, after Yanofsky filed suit, Judge Brown-Jackson ruled that the cited statutes did not apply. The agency continued to withhold most of the records and Brown-Jackson agreed with the agency that her previous order did not cover all the records. After the agency failed to produce any more records, Yanofsky filed suit.
    Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. BLIXSETH v. UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (filed Jul 31, 2019)
    Timothy Blixseth submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Coast Guard for records concerning records from 2010 pertaining to Blixseth, the Piano Bar, and Yellowstone Aviation and Marine. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told Blixseth that it conducted a search and found no records. Blixseth filed an administrative appeal but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Blixseth filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
12. Park v. Federal Bureau of Investigation (filed Jul 31, 2019)
    Ronald Park, an attorney representing the Parsons family whose family member died as a result of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning the agency’s analysis of the guns and ammunition used during the Las Vegas mass shooting. The agency acknowledged receipt of Park’s request and divided the request into four separate requests. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Park filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
13. DEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION et al (filed Aug 1, 2019)
    Democracy Forward Foundation submitted FOIA requests to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and OMB for communications between the agencies and a list of trade associations pertaining to records concerning EEOC-1 Component 2 pay data. DFF also requested a fee waiver for both requests. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. EEOC told DFF that it could not respond within the statutory time limit. After hearing nothing further from either agency, DFF filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index, Public Interest Fee Waiver
14. AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (filed Aug 1, 2019)
    American Oversight submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Treasury for records concerning communications between Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner regarding Trump and Kushner’s presence on Air Force planes, and any invitation to Mnuchin to vacation with Trump and/or Kushner. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told American Oversight that it would need to take a 10-day extension to respond. After hearing nothing further from the agency, American Oversight filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
15. SIERRA CLUB v. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (filed Aug 1, 2019)
    The Sierra Club submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for records concerning the agency’s decision to re-evaluate whether the Key deer should remain on the list of endangered species. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency provided a three-page interim response and told the Sierra Club that it intended to continue processing the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the Sierra Club filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
16. Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al (filed Aug 2, 2019)
    The Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning the agency’s Institutional Hearing Program designed to speed up deportation proceedings, and its impact on people placed in IHP. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. After the agency failed to respond within the statutory deadline, the Center filed an administrative appeal. The agency then responded and granted the Center’s request for a fee waiver. The Center once again filed an administrative appeal of the agency’s inaction in responding to 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, Litigation – Vaughn index
17. MOMBER v. WILKIE (filed Aug 2, 2019)
    Karen Momber, a nurse at the VA Medical Center in Battle Creek, Michign, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning the final report of the Administrative Investigation Board pertaining to charges brought against her that the AIB concluded were unfounded. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but despite several inquiries from Momber pertaining to the status of her request she heard nothing further from the agency and filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
18. LARIOS CHAVEZ v. U.S. CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION et al (filed Aug 2, 2019)
    Alejandro Larlos Chavez submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of State for records about himself. The agencies acknowledged both requests but after hearing nothing further from either agency, Larlos Chavez filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
19. MOELLER v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION (filed Aug 2, 2019)
    James Moeller submitted a FOIA request to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for records concerning the legality under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of experience caps in job advertisements. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and later told Moeller that it had received responsive information and was reviewing it for disclosure. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Moeller filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

In addition, we have added 14 documents from 4 cases, with earlier filing dates, that have recently appeared on PACER.

1. GALDIERI v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (filed Jul 26, 2019)
   Louis Galdieri, a writer and documentary filmmaker, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Interior for records concerning a December 2017 opinion renewing mineral leases held by Twin Metals Minnesota allowing it to explore for minerals in the Superior National Forest. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and agreed to provide rolling releases. However, Galdieri’s request was delayed by the awareness review program. Galdieri then filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. Hughes v. FBI et al (filed Jul 25, 2019)
   Terry Hughes, a state prisoner, submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records pertaining to his criminal investigation. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but told Hughes it would not search for records on third parties without authorization. Hughes filed an administrative appeal, which was denied. He then filed suit.
   Issues: Determination – Glomar response
3. CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY et al v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (filed Jul 24, 2019)
   The Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Integrity Project filed suit against the EPA to challenge its revised FOIA regulation that had been published without notice or comment.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Jurisdiction – Injunction
4. COLEMAN v. TRUMP et al (filed Jul 22, 2019)