WILDEARTH GUARDIANS v. UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE and 7 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 30 documents from 5 FOIA cases filed between October 2, 2016 and October 8, 2016. 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. WILDEARTH GUARDIANS v. UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (filed Oct 6, 2016)
   Wildearth Guardians submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for records concerning the agency’s decision not to list the Sonoran desert turtle as an endangered species. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and took a 10-day extension. Wildearth Guardians inquired about the status of the request, but after hearing nothing further about a substantive response to its request, Wildlife Guardians filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Oct 5, 2016)
   The American Center for Law and Justice submitted a number of FOIA requests to the Department of State for records referencing various people and organizations that had been obtained by Judicial Watch as the result of FOIA requests. ACLJ also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but denied ACLJ’s request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, ACLJ filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
3. FREEDOM WATCH, INC. v. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (filed Oct 5, 2016)
   Freedom Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FDA for records concerning the antibiotic Levaquin and the relationship between former FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg and several pharmaceutical companies. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Freedom Watch filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
4. Barnes v. United States of America (filed Oct 6, 2016)
   Marlyn Barnes, a federal prisoner, submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for records about his conviction. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Barnes filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. McGuffin v. Social Security Administration (filed Oct 7, 2016)
   Clarence McGuffin submitted a FOIA request to the Social Security Administration for records concerning the productivity of its decision writers, an issue that had been the subject of congressional testimony by the SSA. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, McGuffin filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

In addition, we have added 7 documents from 3 cases, with earlier filing dates, that have recently appeared on PACER.

1. Wunderlich v. United States Special Operations Command (filed Sep 21, 2016)
2. Juan Carlos Campos Jimenez, et al v. United States Department of State, et al (filed Sep 19, 2016)
3. MITCHELL v. UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE (filed Sep 12, 2016)