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CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY v. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION and 22 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

by Harry Hammitt on May 14th, 2021

We have added 168 documents from 23 FOIA cases filed between May 2, 2021 and May 8, 2021. 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. CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY v. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (filed May 7, 2021)
    The Center for Food Safety submitted FOIA requests to the FDA for records concerning communications between the FDA and the Department of Agriculture related to the potential transfer of regulatory power over gene-edited animals from the FDA to USDA. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, CFS filed suit.
    Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Vaughn index
  2. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed May 3, 2021)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Secret Service for records concerning communications between agency officials responsible for protection of the White House concerning the Bidens’ dogs named Champ and Major. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Judicial Watch that responsive records were being processed. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  3. AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA (filed May 3, 2021)
    American Oversight submitted two FOIA requests to U.S. Agency for Global Media for records concerning appointment calendars for CEO Michal Pack and emails of agency officials. 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
  4. ALOBA v. UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed May 3, 2021)
    Oriyomi Aloba submitted a FOIA request to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for records. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Aloba filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
  5. Mohamed v. United States Citizenship Immigration Services (filed May 3, 2021)
    Abdullah Abdi Mohamed submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning his alien file. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency disclosed 127 pages in full, and 32 pages in part. The agency withheld four pages in full. Mohammed filed an administrative appeal of the denial. The agency then disclosed more pages but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Mohammed filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  6. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed May 4, 2021)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning emails sent from the Center for Disease Control to New York State officials concerning the number of deaths reported from coronavirus. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  7. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed May 4, 2021)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning communications between the agency and financial institutions pertaining to credit card charges in Washington, DC, Virginia, or Maryland on Jan. 6, 2021. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  8. PROJECT FOR PRIVACY AND SURVEILLANCE ACCOUNTABILITY, INC. v. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE et al (filed May 4, 2021)
    The Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability submitted FOIA requests to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, the National Security Agency, the CIA, the Department of State, and the National Archives and Records Administration for records concerning the intelligence community’s compliance with Section 1.7 of E.O. 13526. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after PPSA heard nothing further from the agencies, it filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  9. Birach Law, PC v. U,S, Citizenship and Immgration Services et al (filed May 4, 2021)
    Attorney Robert Birach submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning his client, Anthonia Nwagwu. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency located 2730 responsive pages. The agency disclosed 2066 pages in full and 282 pages in part. The agency withheld 382 pages in full. Birach filed an administrative appeal, which was denied. Birach then filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  10. Contreras & Metelska, P.A. v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) et al (filed May 4, 2021)
    The immigration law firm of Contreras & Metelska submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning emails sent by the Chief Counsel in the ICE Minneapolis-St. Paul Filed Office that mentions Contreras & Metelska or any of its employees. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency the law firm filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fee Category – Commercial, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  11. AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed May 5, 2021)
    The American Center for Law and Justice submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning allegations that the Biden administration was planning to increase aid to the Palestinian Authority despite limitations imposed by the Taylor Force Act. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, ACLJ filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  12. CATO INSTITUTE v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE et al (filed May 5, 2021)
    The Cato Institute submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force, and the Department of the Navy for records concerning person or organizations not affiliate with the Department of Defense. The Cato Institute also requested a fee waiver and expedited processing. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. The agencies responded with either a no records response or an explanation that the request was too broad to be searched. The Cato Institute filed administrative appeals of the denials but after hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, the Cato Institute filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  13. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (filed May 5, 2021)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Defense for records concerning emails pertaining to Tucker Carlson or Fox News. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  14. First Look Institute, Inc. et al v. National Institutes of Health (filed May 5, 2021)
    First Look Institute, publisher of the Intercept, submitted a FOIA request to the National Institute of Health for records concerning the funding provided to virologist Dr. Peter Daszak to study the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as Sars-CoV-2. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied the request in full under Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding). First Look Institute then filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further from the agency, First Look Institute filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  15. ASSASSINATION ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER et al v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (filed May 6, 2021)
    The Assassination Archives and Research Center submitted a FOIA request to the CIA for records concerning David Harold Byrd, Werner von Alvensleben, Jr., and the Doolittle Report. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AARC filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fees, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  16. COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE v. MCCARTHY et al (filed May 6, 2021)
    Competitive Enterprise Institute submitted FOIA requests to Gina McCarthy, the head of the National Climate Task Force, the Department of Commerce, and the EPA for records concerning the first meeting of the Task Force. McCarthy did not acknowledge receipt of the request, but Commerce and the EPA did acknowledge receipt of the requests. After hearing nothing further from the agencies, CEI filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  17. PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES et al (filed May 6, 2021)
    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Health, and the National Institute of Mental Health for records concerning the use of animals in research experiments funded by grants from the NIMH. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, PETA filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  18. CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY et al (filed May 6, 2021)
    Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Treasury and the Department of State for records. CREW’s requests to the Treasury Department asked for records on the blocked property of Daniel Gertler. CREW also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. CREW’s request to the State Department asked for records concerning Gertler’s blocked property. CREW also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from either agency, CREW filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  19. ENERGY POLICY ADVOCATES v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (filed May 6, 2021)
    Energy Policy Advocates submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Interior Ethics Officer for records concerning Senior Counselor Elizabeth Klein. EPA also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied EPA’s request for expedited processing and a fee waiver. EPA filed an administrative appeal of the denial of expedited processing and a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, EPA filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Expedited processing, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  20. CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY v. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (filed May 6, 2021)
    The Center for Food Safety submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for records concerning a list of National Wildlife Refuge s in the Southeast Region asking to use genetically-engineered crops and/or neonicotinoid pesticides on the refuge. The agency acknowledged of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, CFS filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  21. SEDGHI et al v. US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed May 6, 2021)
    Dr. Shahriar Sedghi submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning the investigation of Endoscopy Center of Middle Georgia. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Sedghi that it would invoke a ten-day extension. As a result, Sedghi submitted a request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further the agency, Sedghi filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  22. IMPACT JOURNALS, LLC (filed May 7, 2021)
    Impact Journals, LLC submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning to the decision of the National Library of Medicine to reject its publication Oncotarget for its MEDLINE application. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency provided some records but withheld others under Exemption 4 (confidential business information), Exemption 5 (privileges) and Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Impact Journals filed an administrative appeal but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Impact Journals filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  23. Zaid v. Department of Justice (filed May 8, 2021)
    Attorney Mark Zaid submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning fourteen categories of records. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Zaid that it was withholding all records under Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding). Zaid filed suit, contending that only portions of the records qualified for Exemption 7(A) coverage.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

From → FOIA, PACER

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