Did the DOJ Accurately Report on Your FOIA Lawsuit?
Noted FOIA attorney David Sobel brought to our attention several inaccuracies in the Department of Justice’s recently issued 2012 FOIA Compliance and Litigation Report. Specifically, on page 15 of the listing, the DOJ reports that no fees or costs were stipulated for two three cases in which Mr. Sobel represented the plaintiff:
Excerpt from p. 15 of DOJ’s 2012 FOIA Compliance and Litigation Report
However, court documents for these two cases clearly stipulate fees to be paid by the government. (Edit: Although the stipulation for the first case, 12-551, had not been made until 2013, DOJ was misleading at best in stating that no fees had been ordered in 2012, as the case was not yet closed. In addition, DOJ erred in reporting that no fees were ordered in 2012 for the second case, 12-01265, a fact which was not noted in the original post.)
If you were involved in a FOIA lawsuit that received a decision in 2012, please check out the DOJ’s listing, and then contact us or leave a comment below to let us know how accurately the information reflects the status of your case.
I’m involved in a FOIA suit right now that’s got a number of distortions by DOJ (docket: http://mspbwatch.net/edva2013). I’m drafting the reply brief as we speak (due 5/8) that will lay out all the government’s machinations.
Here is the reply brief: http://mspbwatch.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/27.pdf
I think DOJ might not be including cases where the parties stipulated to fees. There was a stipulation of $2208.99 in my case Leopold v. CIA, No. 12-245, and another agreement for $6000 in Tarzia v. Clinton, No. 10-5654.