FOIA Activity: 13 New Procedural or Substantive Decisions

We have added 13 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between September 20, 2015 and September 26, 2015. These are associated with 13 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.

Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.

1. DC 1:2008cv01481 — CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

   • September 22, 2015: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER discharging the Order to Show Cause [#74] why a sanction in the form of attorneys' fees should not be entered; the parties shall meet and confer and file a joint report with the Court, on or before September 30, 2015, indicating whether they wish to engage in settlement discussions to resolve the pending motion for attorneys' fees [#76] before a magistrate judge or a court-appointed mediator. Signed by Judge Paul L. Friedman on September 22, 2015. (MA)
2. DC 1:2011cv00602 — BIGWOOD v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE et al

   • September 25, 2015: MEMORANDUM OPINION ADOPTING [42] Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge. See attached document for details. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 09/25/2015. (Attachments: # 1 Appendix Report and Recommendation) (lckbj1)
3. DC 1:2013cv00122 — FOWLKES v. BUREAU OF ATF et al

   • September 21, 2015: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION. Signed by Judge Rudolph Contreras on 9/21/15. (ms)
4. DC 1:2013cv01097 — MCKNEELY v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

   • September 25, 2015: MEMORANDUM OPINION accompanying final order issued separately this day. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 9/25/15.(ah)
5. DC 1:2013cv01540 — ROJAS-VEGA v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP IMMIGRATION SERVICE et al

   • September 23, 2015: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 9/23/15. (ms)
6. DC 1:2014cv00986 — WHITMORE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS

   • September 25, 2015: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on 9/25/15. (ms)
7. DC 1:2014cv01082 — HALL v. U.S. BUREAU OF PRISONS et al

   • September 25, 2015: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on 9/25/15. (ms)
8. DC 1:2014cv01506 — KLEINERT v. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

   • September 25, 2015: MEMORANDUM OPINION. See text for details. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 9/25/2015. (lcjdb2)
9. DC 1:2014cv01537 — HINZ v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY et al

   • September 21, 2015: MEMORANDUM OPINION accompanying final order issued separately this day. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on 9/21/15.(ah)
10. DC 1:2014cv01791 — ELKINS v. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

    • September 21, 2015: MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge James E. Boasberg on 9/21/15. (lcjeb3)
11. GAS 1:2015cv00133 — Lewis v. Department of the Army et al

    • September 24, 2015: ORDER that the Court will provide the Plaintiff pro se with some basic instructions regarding the development and the proper prosecution of this case; directing the Clerk to attach a copy of Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 4 to Plaintiff's service copy of this Order; and notifying Plaintiff that she has 120 days from the filing of the complaint to serve the defendants (i.e. 12/22/2015), etc. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps on 09/24/2015. (Attachments: # 1 Copy of Fed. R. Civ. P. 4) (jah)
12. NYS 1:2013cv08955 — Intellectual Property Watch et al v. United States Trade Representative

    • September 25, 2015: OPINION AND ORDER: re: [48] CROSS MOTION for Summary Judgment as to Sample Set filed by William New, Intellectual Property Watch, [42] MOTION for Summary Judgment As to Sample Set filed by United States Trade Representative. For the reasons stated above, the Court: GRANTS USTR's motion for summary judgment with respect to withholdings of Decision Memoranda (Category 1), ITAC Communications (Category 2), and Draft Chapters (Category 3) under Exemption 1; GRANTS Pla intiffs' motion for summary judgment with respect to withholdings of ITAC Communications under Exemption 5; DENIES both parties' motions for summary judgment with respect to withholdings of ITAC Communications under Exemptions 3 and 4; and ORDERS USTR to submit supplemental affidavits, declarations, and/or indices justifying in more detail its withholdings of ITAC Communications under Exemption 3 and Exemption 4 by November 6, 2015. The parties are directed to appear for a status confe rence on Friday, November 13, 2015, at 10:30 AM. The Clerk is respectfully directed to terminate the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, located at Doc. Nos. 42 and 48. It is SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Edgardo Ramos on 9/25/2015) (ama)
13. WAW 2:2013cv00945 — St. Germain et al v. United States Department of Interior et al

    • September 22, 2015: ORDER denying defts' [53] Motion for Summary Judgment; granting pltfs' [56] Motion for Voluntary Dismissal and denying as moot pltfs' [50] Motion for Summary Judgment. Case is dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs due in 60 days of this order; by Judge Richard A Jones. (PM)