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LEOPOLD v. U.S. SECRET SERVICE et al and 23 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

by Harry Hammitt on August 4th, 2022

We have added 165 documents from 24 FOIA cases filed between June 26, 2022 and July 2, 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. LEOPOLD v. U.S. SECRET SERVICE et al (filed Jul 1, 2022)
    Journalist Jason Leopold submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Secret Service for records concerning the removal of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Leopold filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Adequacy – Search
  2. MCKATHAN v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al (filed Jun 27, 2022)
    Denzil McKathan submitted a FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the Department of Justice for records concerning himself. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, McKathan filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Recovery of Costs
  3. NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (filed Jun 27, 2022)
    The National Veterans Legal Services Program submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning the blog post from the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs dated September 20, 2021, entitled Tenth Anniversary of the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy on gays in the military. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NVLSP filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  4. FUNCTIONAL GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (filed Jun 27, 2022)
    The Functional Government Initiative submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Energy for records concerning the release or potential release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. FGI also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted FGI a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, FGI filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  5. DURRNI v. EXECUTIVE OFFICES FOR THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS et al (filed Jun 27, 2022)
    Arif Durrani submitted FOIA requests to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, the CIA, and the National Archives and Records Administration for records concerning his 1986 naturalization and Iran-contra related conviction. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agencies, Durrani filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
  6. Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy, Ltd. v. U.S. Coast Guard (filed Jun 28, 2022)
    Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Coast Guard for records concerning its policies on sexual assault on vessels under its jurisdiction. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and disclosed 395 pages with redactions under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy) and Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records). The agency provided some other records as well. MLAA filed an administrative appeal but after hearing nothing further from the agency, MLAA filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  7. Martinez v Department of Justice (filed Jun 28, 2022)
    Anthony Martinez submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning himself. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Martinez filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  8. Zaid v. Department of Homeland Security (filed Jun 29, 2022)
    Mark Zaid submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning five categories of records. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and referred it to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for processing. After hearing nothing further from the agencies, Zaid filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  9. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Commerce for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  10. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Energy for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted AFLF’s request for a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  11. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  12. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  13. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told AFLF that it would be unable to process the request within the statutory time limit. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  14. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Transportation for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  15. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Treasury for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged of the request. The agency told AFLF that it was almost finished with processing its request. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  16. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told AFLF that its request was being processed. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  17. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Education for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency granted AFLF’s request for a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  18. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Interior for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency disclosed 85 pages in response to the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  19. AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (filed Jun 30, 2022)
    America First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Labor for records concerning political appointees and their ethics obligations. AFLF also asked for a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency disclosed some records but redacted some under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFLF filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  20. LEOPOLD v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY et al (filed Jul 1, 2022)
    Jason Leopold submitted a FOIA requests to the CIA and the National Security Agency for records concerning the removal of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agencies, Leopold filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  21. LEOPOLD v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jul 1, 2022)
    Jason Leopold submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and National Security Division for records concerning presidential records removed from Mar-a-Lago. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agencies, Leopold filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  22. LEOPOLD v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Jul 1, 2022)
    Journalist Jason Leopold submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning the removal of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied the request under Exemption 7(A) (interference with ongoing investigation or proceeding) and Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods or techniques). Leopold filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Leopold filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  23. LEOPOLD v. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (filed Jul 1, 2022)
    Journalist Jason Leopold submitted a FOIA request to the National Archives and Records Administration for records concerning an inventory of records submitted to NARA by the Trump administration that were damaged. Leopold also submitted a FOIA to NARA for a copy of the inspector general’s report on the removal of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Leopold filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
  24. Chisholm Chisholm &Kilpatrick LTD v. McDonough (filed Jul 1, 2022)
    The law firm of Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning the Board’s Case Assignment Algorithm. The agency acknowledged receipt of both requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, the law firm filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

From → FOIA, PACER

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