Southern Poverty Law Center et al v. United States Department of Justice et al and 5 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 55 documents from 6 FOIA cases filed between November 18, 2018 and November 24, 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.

1. Southern Poverty Law Center et al v. United States Department of Justice et al (filed Nov 20, 2018)
   The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning the Change Notice pertaining to prison management and security in housing transgendered individuals. Several DOJ components the Civil Division and the Civil Rights Division told SPLC that they found no responsive records. After hearing nothing further from the agency, SPLC and Lambda filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. Dudova et al v. Whitaker et al (filed Nov 19, 2018)
   Dasa Dudova and William McGuffey submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning McGuffey’s I-130 petition. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. Dudova filed an administrative appeal of the agency’s processing of her request. After hearing nothing further from the agency concerning her appeal, Dudova filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY v. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (filed Nov 20, 2018)
   Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Interior for records concerning scientific grants from Dec. 28, 2017 to the present. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told PEER it was being classified in the “other” category for fee purposes and that the agency was considering PEER’s request for a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, PEER filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. KNIGHT FIRST AMENDMENT INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY et al (filed Nov 20, 2018)
   The Knight First Amendment Institute submitted FOIA requests to the CIA, NSA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State for records concerning whether the intelligence agencies learned of the potential threat to Jamil Khashoggi before he was killed. The Knight First Amendment Institute also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. All of the agencies except for the State Department denied the Institute’s request for expedited processing. Some agencies denied the Institute’s request for a fee waiver, while some either granted or had not made a decision. The Institute filed administrative appeals of the denial of expedited processing. The Justice Department denied the Institute’s administrative appeal, while none of the other agencies had acted on the Institute’s appeals before the Institute filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
5. AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE et al (filed Nov 21, 2018)
   American Oversight submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, the Department of State, the Department of Treasury, and the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning emails sent by or on behalf of Jared Kushner using an account that did not end in .gov. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agencies, American Oversight filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. PROPERTY OF THE PEOPLE, INC. et al v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Nov 21, 2018)
   Property of the People and researcher Ryan Shapiro submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller received a waiver because of his former employment at the law firm of Wilmer Hale. Property of the People and Shapiro also requested inclusion in the news media/educational institute for purposes of fees and asked for a fee waiver as well. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Property of the People and Shapiro filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Fee Category – Media or Educational, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver