American Civil Liberties Union Foundation v. Department of Justice et al and 12 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 80 documents from 13 FOIA cases filed between December 20, 2020 and December 26, 2020. 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 Foundation v. Department of Justice et al (filed Dec 22, 2020)
   The ACLU Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning the Electronic Device Analysis Unit. The ACLU Foundation also requested a fee waiver. The Office of the Attorney General acknowledged receipt of the request and told the ACLU Foundation that its request qualified for unusual circumstances. The Office of the Inspector General did not acknowledge receipt of the request. The FBI acknowledged receipt of the request and told the ACLU Foundation that it was invoking a Glomar response based on Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods or techniques for one portion of its request and that the agency could find no records for other portions. The ACLU Foundation filed an administrative appeal of the FBI’s denial. The Office of Information Policy upheld the FBI’s denial. The ACLU Foundation then filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Public Interest Fee Waiver
2. E.O.C. Ord, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service (filed Dec 24, 2020)
   E.O.C. Ord, a professional law corporation, submitted a FOIA request to the IRS for records concerning the estate closing letter for the estate of Tobias Brown, which was the law firm’s client. The agency acknowledged of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, E.O.C. Ord filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. E.O.C. Ord, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service (filed Dec 24, 2020)
   E.O.C. Ord, a professional law corporation, submitted a FOIA request to the IRS for records concerning the estate closing letter for the estate of Tobias Brown, which was the law firm’s client. The agency acknowledged of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, E.O.C. Ord filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Dec 22, 2020)
   American Oversight submitted four FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning authorization allowing Scott Brady, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania to investigate election fraud allegations presented by Rudy Giuliani. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, American Oversight filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER, LLC v. UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCMENT et al (filed Dec 22, 2020)
   The Louise Trauma Center submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning instructions and training manuals given to ICE in Baltimore and instructions for ICE attorneys in Arlington, VA. The agency acknowledged of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency pertaining to either request, Louise Trauma Center filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. AMERICAN WILD HORSE CAMPAIGN v. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (filed Dec 23, 2020)
   The American Wild Horse Campaign submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Land Management for records concerning collateral assignments or lienholder agreements for grazing allotments within the Herd Management of Wyoming. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency disclosed two pages with redactions under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). AWHC filed an administrative appeal of the redactions. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AWHC filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. Hooker v. Department of Veterans Affairs (filed Dec 21, 2020)
   Carlton Hooker submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning suspicions that Hooker had been a disruptive patient. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Hooker filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
8. Albert v. National Security Agency (filed Dec 23, 2020)
   Benjamin Albert submitted a FOIA request to the National Security Agency concerning surveillance of his software company, Billenial Tech. The agency issued a Glomar response. Albert also submitted a FOIA request to the FBI. After neither agency responded, Albert filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. Hawkinson v. Executive Office for Immigration Review (filed Dec 23, 2020)
   John Hawkinson, a freelance reporter, submitted a FOIA request to the Executive Office for Immigration Review for records concerning a recent decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals. EOIR acknowledged request and provided two decisions but not the decision Hawkinson had requested. Hawkinson filed an administrative appeal with the Office of Information Policy. OIP told Hawkinson that it was unable to get further information from EOIR. Hawkinson then filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Recovery of Costs
10. Hoffmann v. U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (filed Dec 22, 2020)
    Karen Hoffman, an attorney, submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for records concerning her client, Hector Menchaca. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Hoffman filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. NEWMAN v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS et al (filed Dec 21, 2020)
12. CITIZENS UNITED v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Dec 21, 2020)
    Citizens United submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning communications between the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine referencing Burisma, Hunter Biden, and others. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Citizens United that it qualified for unusual circumstances. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Citizens United filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
13. HETTICH v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES et al (filed Dec 22, 2020)
    Daniel Hettich, an attorney, submitted a FOIA request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for records concerning communications between the agency and its contractors pertaining to the FY 1995 final rule. The agency acknowledged of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Hettich filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees