Citizens of the Ebey's Reserve for a Healthy Safe and Peaceful Environment v. United States Department of the N…

We have added 96 documents from 14 FOIA cases filed between February 27, 2022 and March 5, 2022. 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. Citizens of the Ebey’s Reserve for a Healthy Safe and Peaceful Environment v. United States Department of the Navy (filed Mar 3, 2022)
   Citizens of the Ebey’s Reserve submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Navy for records concerning the EA-18G Growler noise monitoring study. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency provided some records in an interim response. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Citizens of the Ebey’s Reserve filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Failure to respond within statutory time limit
2. Al Otro Lado, Inc. v. US Customs and Border Protection et al (filed Mar 3, 2022)
   Al Otro Lado submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning the treatment and processing of migrants injured from falling from the border wall at the southern border. Al Otro Lado also requested expedited processing. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. The agencies denied Al Otro Lado’s request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agencies, Al Otro Lado filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Expedited processing, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. Evans Law PLLC et al v. US Department of Justice (filed Mar 4, 2022)
   Attorney Kevin Evans submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning Hunter or James Biden pertaining to any government agency or otherwise related to China, Russia, or Ukraine. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency disclosed 106 pages from its database pertaining to a letter from Senators and the agency’s responses. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Evans filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. BUZZFEED INC. v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Feb 28, 2022)
   BuzzFeed, Inc. submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning the unprocessed records from the Yale Law School bombing. BuzzFeed also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency put BuzzFeed in the “other” request category and indicated it would need to pay $475 in fees. BuzzFeed an administrative appeal, arguing that it belonged in the media fee category. However, while its appeal was pending, BuzzFeed agreed to pay the $475 fee under protest to move the request forward. After hearing nothing further from the agency, BuzzFeed filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Failure to respond within statutory time limit
5. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY v. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (filed Mar 2, 2022)
   Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Geological Survey on behalf of Eveline Emmenegger for records concerning the deletion of records from her personnel file. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told PEER it had identified 4,043 potentially responsive pages. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, PEER filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES v. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (filed Mar 2, 2022)
   The Center for Immigration Studies submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning each alien removed by ICE in FY 2019, FY 2020, and FY 2021. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, CIS filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. REUTERS NEWS & MEDIA INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed Mar 3, 2022)
   Reuter News & Media, Inc. submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning contract awarded related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told Reuters that it found no responsive records. Reuters filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Reuters filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. VEYTIA v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Feb 28, 2022)
   Edgar Veytia, a federal prisoner, submitted FOIA requests to the FBI and the DEA for records concerning his criminal case. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agencies, Veytia filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Recovery of Costs
9. NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, INC. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Mar 4, 2022)
   National Public Radio submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning negotiations with Cuba over a list of excludable aliens whom Cuba would allow the U.S. to repatriate. NPR also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NPR filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
10. STATE OF INDIANA et al v. BIDEN et al (filed Mar 4, 2022)
    The State of Indiana and 12 other states submitted FOIA requests to President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and the Department of Education for records concerning Garland’s comments that the Justice Department would act to protect school board meetings from violent disruption by groups and individuals protecting critical race theory. The requests focused on government exchanges with the National School Board Association. The requests also asked for fee waivers. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. After hearing nothing further from the agencies, the States filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. Sieverding v. US Department of Justice (filed Mar 1, 2022)
    Kay Sieverding submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning her prosecution and detention in Colorado and Western Wisconsin. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Sieverding filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
12. Rute v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Mar 2, 2022)
    Jonathan Rute submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning public integrity investigations of former judicial officials in Collins County, Texas. The FBI acknowledged receipt of the request and denied the request. Rute filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Rute filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
13. Miller v. U.S. Department of Justice (filed Feb 28, 2022)
    Travis Miller submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning the agency’s review of the civil rights investigation against Yale University’s practice of discriminating on the basis of race. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency then denied the request under Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding). Miller filed an administrative appeal. The agency upheld its original decision and Miller filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
14. Munene et al v. Talebian et al (filed Mar 2, 2022)
    Rose Munene and other requesters submitted FOIA requests to the Executive Office for Immigration Review for records concerning their removal proceedings. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Munene and the others filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Fees, Litigation – Attorney’s fees