CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR and 8 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 64 documents from 9 FOIA cases filed between November 26, 2023 and December 2, 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. CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (filed Nov 28, 2023)
   Center for Biological Diversity submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Interior for records concerning receipt, distribution, circulation and consideration of January 19, 2022 petition to reduce rate of oil and gas production on public lands. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, CBD filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Adequacy – Search
2. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY & OVERSIGHT v. UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES et al (filed Nov 27, 2023)
   Government Accountability & Oversight submitted FOIA requests to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for records concerning emails and attachments for named officials. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, GAO filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. AMERICAN IMMIGRANT INVESTOR ALLIANCE v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (filed Nov 28, 2023)
   American Immigrant Investor Alliance submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning various policies and initiative emanating from a GAO Report. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and asked for clarification. AIIA provided clarification but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AIIA filed suit,
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. BADER FAMILY FOUNDATION v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed Nov 28, 2023)
   The Bader Family Foundation submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning communications containing the word “transgender” or “gender-affirming” from or to a number of offices and entities. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told the BFF that it conducted a search but found no responsive records. BFF filed an administrative appeal. After hearing nothing further from the agency, BFF filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fees, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. KITLINSKI v. UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (filed Nov 28, 2023)
   Darek Kitlinski submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Coast Guard for records containing the keywords “Kitlinski sent or receive by USCG employee Jason Wimer.” The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. After hearing nothing from the agency, Kitlinski filed an administrative appeal. The agency acknowledged receipt of the appeal but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Kitlinski filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY v. UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (filed Nov 30, 2023)
   Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility submitted FOIA requests to Bureau of Land Management for records concerning various inlets. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. After hearing nothing further from the agency, PEER filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
7. CAPUTI v. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (filed Dec 1, 2023)
   Ross Caputi submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of Defense for records concerning the U.S. military action in Fallujah, Iraq. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. Aft4er hearing nothing further from the agency, Caputi filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. HERITAGE FOUNDATION et al v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (filed Dec 1, 2023)
   Heritage Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Treasury for records concerning communications containing specific keywords and named to and from a list of named individuals. The Heritage Foundation also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, the Heritage Foundation filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. HANSTEN v. DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (filed Nov 30, 2023)
   Philip Hansten, a retired professor of pharmacology at the University of Washington, submitted two FOIA requests to the DEA for records concerning the issuance of Form 222s. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and took a 10-day extension. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Hansten filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees