Idaho Conservation League v. US Air Force and 10 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions

We have added 61 documents from 11 FOIA cases filed between October 8, 2023 and October 14, 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. Idaho Conservation League v. US Air Force (filed Oct 10, 2023)
   Idaho Conservation League submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Air Force for records concerning the agency’s preparation of an environmental impact statement pertaining to Owyhee Canyonlands region. ICL also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted ICL’s request for a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, ICL filed suit.
   Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Failure to respond within statutory time limit
2. American Civil Liberties Union Foundation v. United States Department of Justice (filed Oct 13, 2023)
   The ACLU Foundation submitted two FOIA requests to the Bureau of Prisons for records concerning the number of prisoners with mental illnesses. The ACLU Foundation requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the ACLU Foundation filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. Jordan v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al (filed Oct 13, 2023)
   Elizabeth Jordan, a visiting professor of law at the University of Denver, submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning to the death of Melvin Calero Mendoza while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Jordan filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fees, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Oct 10, 2023)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning communications between FBI employees and employees of the House Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government. 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 IMMIGRATION STUDIES v. U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (filed Oct 13, 2023)
   Center for Immigration Studies submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for records concerning identifiable categories for each encounter between ports of entry with a person within the Terrorist Screening Dataset. 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 – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. Chelmowski v. United States Environment Protection Agency, The (filed Oct 11, 2023)
   James Chelmowski submitted a FOIA request to the EPA for records concerning emails from Tim Crawford pertaining to the appeal of his FOIA request. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Chelmowski filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. America First Policy Institute v. Department of Homeland Security (filed Oct 12, 2023)
   America First Policy Institute submitted three FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning communications between officers or employees of the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency that were either sent or received from a list of email domain. AFPI also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AFPI filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed Oct 10, 2023)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Centers for Disease Control for records concerning the drafting and publishing of guidance for breast-feeding by transgender individuals. 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
9. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Oct 10, 2023)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning payments made to Twitter. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency issued a Glomar response neither confirming nor denying the existence of the records, citing Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods or techniques). Judicial Watch filed an administrative appeal. The Office of Information Policy remanded the request back to the FBI for further searching. 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
10. Purdy v. Department of Health and Human Services et al (filed Oct 10, 2023)
    Kamp Townsend Purdy submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning a report from the Office of the Inspector General concerning a self-reported EMTALA violation at Frankfort Regional Medical Center. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency referred the request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for disclosure. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Kamp Townsend Purdy filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. NEW JERSEY OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al (filed Oct 11, 2023)
    The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender sent a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning I-247 and I-247Ddetainer forms issued against removable New Jersey aliens from October 2021 to the present. NJOPD also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told NJOPD that it needed A numbers to identify the detainees. NJOPD told ICE that it did not have A numbers. After hearing nothing further from the agency, NJOPD filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation – Attorney’s fees