NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, INC. et al v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS and 3 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

We have added 30 documents from 4 FOIA cases filed between July 30, 2023 and August 5, 2023. 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. NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, INC. et al v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS (filed Aug 2, 2023)
   In January 2022, NPR reporter Meg Anderson submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Prisons for records concerning mortality reviews for any inmate who died at Butner FCC from January 1, 2009 to the present. NPR reporter Tirzah Christopher also submitted two FOIA requests to BOP. The first request asked for budgetary details for each BOP medical facility from 2009-2021. Her second request asked for records concerning deaths in BOP facilities since January 2022. Anderson submitted a second FOIA request to BOP asking for 24-hour death notices for prisoners who died at Butner FCC from January 2018 to the present. The agency acknowledged the requests but after it failed to respond, NPR filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Failure to respond within statutory time limit
2. CATO INSTITUTE v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al (filed Aug 1, 2023)
   The Cato Institute submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning FD-1057 and FD-1087 records in which the Case ID# field contains 343A or 343V. The FBI acknowledged receipt of the request and divided it into two separatee requests. The FBI told the Cato Institute that its requests were too broad to search. The Cato Institute filed an administrative appeal of that decision to the Office of Information Policy. OIP remanded the case to the FBI for further search. The FBI then told the Cato Institute that it still could find no responsive records. The Cato Institute then filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. VIVEK 2024 v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Aug 1, 2023)
   Vivek 2024 submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning the agency’s plans to indict former President Donald Trump again. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency invoked a 10-day extension for processing the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Vivek 2024 filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. PARADISE OCEAN CLUB LLC. v. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE et al (filed Aug 2, 2023)
   The Paradise Ocean Club submitted a FOIA request to U.S. National Park Service for records concerning itself that were sent in 2022 to or from either the Superintendent of Fort Monroe National Monument or the Superintendent of Colonial National Park. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, POC filed an administrative appeal. The agency acknowledged receipt of the appeal and told POC that the agency could not respond within the stator 20 days. POC then filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees