FOIA Activity: 132 new FOIA court documents
We have added 132 documents from 17 FOIA cases filed between July 29, 2018 and August 4, 2018. 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.
- WESTERN VALUES PROJECT v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (filed Jul 30, 2018)
Western Values Project submitted ten FOIA requests to the Department of the Interior for records concerning potential conflicts of interest involving Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Western Values Project filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jul 30, 2018)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning any Office of Professional Responsibility investigation of former FBI assistant director Andrew McCabe. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told CREW that it was posting responsive records in its online reading room. However, after the agency failed to post any records, CREW filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jul 30, 2018)
The Campaign Legal Center submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records pertaining to a request from Arthur Gary, General Counsel of the Justice Management Division, to the Census Bureau asking it to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census form. CLC also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted CLC’s request for expedited processing. After hearing nothing further from the agency, CLC filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF et al v. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (filed Jul 31, 2018)
LatinoJustice PRLDEF and Centro de Periodismo Investigativo submitted FOIA requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for records concerning the agency’s relief efforts in Puerto Rico related to Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma. They also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests and discussed potential search terms. But after hearing nothing further from the agency, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and Centro de Periodismo Investigativo filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index, Public Interest Fee Waiver - DEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (filed Jul 31, 2018)
Democracy Forward Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Commerce for records concerning a number of political appointments. DFF also requested a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, DFF filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index - WESTERN STAR HOSPITAL AUTHORITY INC. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS (filed Jul 31, 2018)
Western Star Hospital Authority submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records gathered by the Administrative Investigation Board concerning Metro Health’s claim against the hospital authority. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Western Star Hospital Authority filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - Estate of Wayne A. Jones, by Robert L. Jones and Bruce A. Jones v. The United States Department of Justice (filed Jul 31, 2018)
The Estate of Wayne A. Jones submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning the agency’s investigation of Jones’ death. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Jones’ estate filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit - CAUSE OF ACTION INSTITUTE v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 1, 2018)
Cause of Action Institute submitted a FOIA request to the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Justice for emails sent by either former FBI director James Comey or former FBI chief of staff James Rybicki from a personal email account pertaining to the conduct of agency business. OIG acknowledged receipt of the request. Cause of Action also submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for the same records. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. Cause of Action also submitted a FOIA request to the Office of Information Policy for emails sent by Sarah Isgur Flores on a non-governmental account responding to news accounts that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had met with Russians during the 2016 Presidential campaign. OIP acknowledged receipt of the request. However, after hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, Cause of Action filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY RESEARCH v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Aug 1, 2018)
The Institute for Energy Research submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning communications to or from six named individuals from or to Jennifer Morgan and mentioning China. IER also requested a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, IER filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - NATIONAL STUDENT LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (filed Aug 1, 2018)
The National Student Legal Defense Network submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Education for records provided by the agency to Navient Corporation, Navient Solutions, or Pioneer Credit Recovery in response to discovery requests issued in connection with litigation brought against the companies by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NSLDN filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Aug 1, 2018)
The Electronic Privacy Information Center submitted two FOIA requests to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for records concerning the federal use of 18 U.S.C. Section 2703(d) to obtain cell phone location information. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, EPIC filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver - CONNELL v. UNITED STATES SOUTHERN COMMAND (filed Aug 1, 2018)
James Connell submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Southern Command for records related to a call between Admiral Kurt Tidd and Harvey Rishikof. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and indicated that it would start processing Connell’s request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Connell filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - EQUITY FORWARD v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed Aug 2, 2018)
Equity Forward submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for travel records for trips taken by any HHS officials to Texas, Arkansas or other states concerning use of military installations to house undocumented immigrant children. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Equity Forward filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - PROPERTY OF THE PEOPLE, INC. et al v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Aug 2, 2018)
Property of the People and researcher Ryan Shapiro submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning several entities and individuals involved with the organization Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation. Property of the People and Shapiro also requested a fee waiver. The FBI issued a Glomar response neither confirming nor denying the existence of records. Property of the People and Shapiro filed an administrative appeal of that decision, which was upheld. Property of the People and Shapiro also submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and correspondence with Prevezon Holdings. Property of the People and Shapiro also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted Property of the People’s request for a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Property of the People and Shapiro filed suit against both agencies.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver - NATIONAL STUDENT LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (filed Aug 3, 2018)
The National Student Legal Defense Network submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for records concerning an agreement with the FTC and steps taken by the VA. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. NSLDN contacted the agency several times to check the status of the request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, NSLDN filed suit.
Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees - INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (filed Aug 3, 2018)
The International Longshoremen’s Association submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Labor for records concerning the investigation of the trusteeship of ILA Local 333. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency located 1202 responsive pages but only disclosed 208 pages, withholding records under Exemption 4 (confidential business information), Exemption 5 (privileges), Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy), and Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods and techniques). ILA filed an administrative appeal of that decision, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, ILA filed suit.
Issues: Litigation – Attorney’s fees - The Human Rights Defense Center et al v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al (filed Aug 3, 2018)
The Human Rights Defense Center submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning litigation against ICE or its employees since 2010 resulting in awards of more than $1,000. The Human Rights Defense Center also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency denied the request because it did not adequately describe the records requested. The Human Rights Defense Center filed an administrative appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, HRDC filed suit.
Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
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