AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE and 12 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

We have added 71 documents from 13 FOIA cases filed between October 3, 2021 and October 9, 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. AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Oct 8, 2021)
   American Oversight submitted four FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning communications and calendars for several senior DOJ officials at the end of the Trump administration. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency concerning any of its requests, American Oversight filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Vaughn index
2. CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Oct 4, 2021)
   Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for records concerning communications and calendar entries between former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and the three agencies. CREW also requested a fee waiver. All three agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. DOJ told CREW its request qualified for unusual circumstances. Both DHS and ONDI granted CREW’s request for a fee waiver. CREW also submitted a FOIA request to the Environmental and Natural Resources Division at DOJ for the same records. CREW also asked for a fee waiver. ENRD acknowledged receipt of the request, granted CREW’s request for a fee waiver, and invoked unusual circumstances. After hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, CREW filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. Butowsky v. U.S. Department of Justice, et al (filed Oct 5, 2021)
   Edward Butowsky submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning alleged communications between agencies and a reporter named Jake Green using a ProtonMail account. After hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, Butowsky filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (filed Oct 6, 2021)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Military Academy for records concerning the teaching of critical race theory at the military academies. 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
5. Center for Biological Diversity et al v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management et al (filed Oct 7, 2021)
   The Center for Biological Diversity submitted two FOIA requests to the Bureau of Land Management for records concerning wildlife management in the Gila Box RNCA. The second FOIA request asked for records concerning wildlife management in the Bonita Creek Allotment, which is within the Gila Box RNCA. After hearing nothing further from the agency, CBD filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al (filed Oct 7, 2021)
   The American Civil Liberties Union submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning the treatment of four named individuals who had died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ACLU also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied the ACLU’s request for expedited processing and told the ACLU that it was being placed in the media requester fee category. After hearing nothing from the agency, the ACLU filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. GANDHI et al v. CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES (filed Oct 7, 2021)
   Asvin Gandhi, a professor at the UCLA School on Management, and Samuel Antill, a professor at the Harvard School of Business, submitted a FOIA request to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services for records concerning unredacted EIN and Parent Organization TIN corresponding to records in CMS’s full replacement monthly NPI file. Gandhi and Antill also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied the request entirely under Exemption 4 (commercial and confidential) and Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Gandhi and Antill filed an administrative appeal of the denial. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Gandhi and Antill filed suit
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. Maldonado-Aviles v. Executive Office for Immigration Review et al (filed Oct 7, 2021)
   Jose Maldonado-Aviles submitted a FOIA request to the Executive Office for Immigration Review for records concerning his A-File. Maldonado-Aviles also requested expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Maldonado-Aviles filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. The New York Times Company et al v. United States Central Command (filed Oct 7, 2021)
   The New York Times submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Central Command for records concerning the aerial footage of the August 29, 2021, drone strike in Kabul. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the New York Times Company filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
10. CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Oct 8, 2021)
    Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning analyses by the Office of Legal Counsel between November 2020 and January 2021 related to litigation or investigation of the results of the 2020 Presidential election. CREW also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, CREW filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. MORRISON URENA, L.C. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE, OFFICE OF INFORMATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES (filed Oct 8, 2021)
    The law firm of Morrison Urena LC submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning the impact of COVID-19 on the administration of DV 2020 program. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and cited its backlog as the reason for the delay in processing the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Morrison Urena LC filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
12. MORRISON URENA, L.C. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE, OFFICE OF INFORMATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES (filed Oct 8, 2021)
    The law firm of Morrison Urena LC submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning the reasons for halting the Diversity Visa 2020 program. Morrison Urena also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied Morrison Urena’s request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Morrison Urena filed suit.
    Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Failure to respond within statutory time limit
13. Sustainable Modular Management, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (filed Oct 8, 2021)
    Sustainable Modular Management submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for records concerning communications between tyhe4 agency and JF Dunn relating to the Prime Contract and the Nellis Project. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Sustainable Modular Management filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees