BUZZFEED, INC. v. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION et al and 7 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 40 documents from 6 FOIA cases filed between June 13, 2021 and June 19, 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. BUZZFEED, INC. v. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION et al (filed Jun 18, 2021)
   BuzzFeed submitted a FOIA request to the Centers for Disease Control for records concerning communications between CDC director Robert Redfield and Department of Health and Human Service public affairs chief Michael Caputo and his scientific advisor Paul Alexander. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told BuzzFeed that the request was being transferred to HHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for response. CDC then told BuzzFeed that it had transferred 379 pages of responsive records to HHS for processing and two pages to CMS for processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, BuzzFeed filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Adequacy – Search
2. Siu v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs (filed Jun 14, 2021)
   Gordon Siu submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning his claims file. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied the request under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Siu filed two separate administrative appeals, arguing that Exemption 6 did not apply to records abut oneself. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Siu filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Recovery of Costs
3. WHISTLEBLOWER AID v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jun 14, 2021)
   Whistleblower Aid submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning a copy of the agency’s corrective action report. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency responded that it found no records responsive to the request. Whistleblower Aid filed an administrative appeal. The FBI affirmed its original finding that it could find no responsive records. Whistleblower Aid then filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Jun 14, 2021)
   Codebreaker Films submitted two FOIA requests to the FBI for records concerning research for its film Enemies of the State. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. The agency administratively closed the second request as being encompassed in the first request. After hearing nothing further from the agency concerning its requests, Codebreaker Films filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. Gamez v. United States General Services Administration (Polk County) (filed Jun 14, 2021)
   Carlos Gomez submitted two FOIA requests to U.S. General Services Administration for records. The first request asked for records sent to or from the Mueller special counsel that relate to the Trump transition team. His second FOIA request asked for records sent to or from the FBI or DOJ pertaining to three FOIA request submitted to GSA. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Gomez filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Recovery of Costs
6. AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE v. UNITED STATES OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE (filed Jun 15, 2021)
   The American Center for Law and Justice submitted a FOIA request to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for records concerning the termination or closing of any investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told ACLJ that because records responsive to its request were part of another pending litigation it could not respond until that case was decided. ACLJ then filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

In addition, we have added 6 documents from 2 cases, with earlier filing dates, that have recently appeared on PACER.

• ANAND et al v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES et al (filed Jun 11, 2021)
• Degelo v. United States Department of the Interior et al (filed Jun 10, 2021)