Issues Search

Use this tool to find cases that have been tagged as involving similar issues, such as adequacy of search, or the use of Exemption 5. As part of an ongoing initiative, the FOIA Project has to this date annotated 9676 cases from our much larger FOIA lawsuit database. New annotations are being added daily.

Issues list click on issue to add to current selection

Adequacy 815 in complaints, 582 in opinions Adequacy - Administrative record 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Adequacy - Declarant 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Adequacy - Search 815 in complaints, 580 in opinions Administrative appeal 0 in complaints, 6 in opinions Administrative appeal - 20-day response time 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Administrative appeal - Constructive exhaustion of administrative remedies 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Affirmative disclosure 9 in complaints, 9 in opinions Agency 8 in complaints, 15 in opinions Agency - Federal 4 in complaints, 10 in opinions Agency - Independent authority 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Agency Record 8 in complaints, 43 in opinions Agency Record - Constructive possession 1 in complaints, 9 in opinions Agency Record - Control 1 in complaints, 4 in opinions Agency Record - Custody 0 in complaints, 3 in opinions Agency Record - Possession 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Choice of format 13 in complaints, 21 in opinions Choice of format - Burdensome 2 in complaints, 12 in opinions Delay 3 in complaints, 47 in opinions Delay - Backlog reduction activities 0 in complaints, 5 in opinions Delay - Exceptional circumstance 0 in complaints, 7 in opinions Delay - Stay of proceedings 0 in complaints, 29 in opinions Delay - Unusual circumstances 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Determination 21 in complaints, 105 in opinions Determination - Appeal Rights 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Determination - Deny 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Determination - Glomar response 20 in complaints, 102 in opinions Determination - Grant in full 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Determination - Grant in part 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Exclusions 0 in complaints, 10 in opinions Exclusions - Disclosure of existence of classified national security investigation 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Exclusions - Disclosure of informant records requested by third party 0 in complaints, 7 in opinions Exclusions - Disclosure of pending investigation to unaware subject 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Exemption 1 5 in complaints, 113 in opinions Exemption 1 - De novo court review 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Exemption 1 - Harm to national security 3 in complaints, 79 in opinions Exemption 1 - Properly classified 1 in complaints, 26 in opinions Exemption 2 3 in complaints, 58 in opinions Exemption 2 - Personnel practices 2 in complaints, 12 in opinions Exemption 2 - Risk of circumvention 1 in complaints, 43 in opinions Exemption 3 26 in complaints, 229 in opinions Exemption 3 - Limited agency discretion 4 in complaints, 82 in opinions Exemption 3 - Provision must cite to FOIA 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Exemption 3 - Statutory prohibition of disclosure 11 in complaints, 130 in opinions Exemption 4 19 in complaints, 162 in opinions Exemption 4 - Competitive harm 1 in complaints, 68 in opinions Exemption 4 - Confidential business information 13 in complaints, 72 in opinions Exemption 4 - Impairment of agency 0 in complaints, 9 in opinions Exemption 4 - Obtained from a person 0 in complaints, 4 in opinions Exemption 4 - Predisclosure notification 1 in complaints, 3 in opinions Exemption 4 - Trade secrets 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Exemption 4 - Voluntary submission 0 in complaints, 3 in opinions Exemption 5 35 in complaints, 582 in opinions Exemption 5 - Consultant privilege 0 in complaints, 7 in opinions Exemption 5 - Inter- or intra-agency record 0 in complaints, 10 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges 22 in complaints, 98 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges - Attorney work-product privilege 1 in complaints, 43 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges - Attorney work-product privilege compiled in anticipation of litigation 0 in complaints, 12 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges - Attorney-client privilege 0 in complaints, 34 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges - Deliberative process privilege - Deliberative 6 in complaints, 268 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges - Deliberative process privilege - Predecisional 3 in complaints, 66 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges - Other privileges 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Exemption 5 - Privileges - Waiver of privilege 1 in complaints, 36 in opinions Exemption 6 28 in complaints, 235 in opinions Exemption 6 - Invasion of privacy 28 in complaints, 227 in opinions Exemption 6 - Personnel, medical, similar file 0 in complaints, 7 in opinions Exemption 7 22 in complaints, 65 in opinions Exemption 7 - Law enforcement records 18 in complaints, 53 in opinions Exemption 7 - Threshold 0 in complaints, 11 in opinions Exemption 7(A) 40 in complaints, 87 in opinions Exemption 7(A) - Categorical exemption 5 in complaints, 20 in opinions Exemption 7(A) - Interference with ongoing investigation 29 in complaints, 66 in opinions Exemption 7(B) 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Exemption 7(B) - Interference with fair trial 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Exemption 7(C) 28 in complaints, 259 in opinions Exemption 7(C) - Invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records 28 in complaints, 257 in opinions Exemption 7(D) 3 in complaints, 77 in opinions Exemption 7(D) - Assurance of confidentiality 0 in complaints, 4 in opinions Exemption 7(D) - Assurance of confidentiality - Explicit 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Exemption 7(D) - Assurance of confidentiality - Implicit 0 in complaints, 14 in opinions Exemption 7(D) - Confidential sources 2 in complaints, 57 in opinions Exemption 7(E) 14 in complaints, 151 in opinions Exemption 7(E) - Investigative methods or techniques 12 in complaints, 121 in opinions Exemption 7(E) - Prosecutorial guidelines 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Exemption 7(E) - Prosecutorial guidelines - Risk of circumvention 0 in complaints, 5 in opinions Exemption 7(E) - Unknown to public 1 in complaints, 23 in opinions Exemption 7(F) 2 in complaints, 22 in opinions Exemption 7(F) - Harm to safety of any person 2 in complaints, 20 in opinions Exemption 8 2 in complaints, 7 in opinions Exemption 8 - Bank examination records 2 in complaints, 3 in opinions Exemption 8 - Financial institution 0 in complaints, 3 in opinions Exemption 9 0 in complaints, 5 in opinions Exemption 9 - Data on wells 0 in complaints, 5 in opinions Exemptions 2 in complaints, 0 in opinions Expedited processing 115 in complaints, 38 in opinions Expedited processing - Compelling Need 5 in complaints, 10 in opinions Expedited processing - Time limit 0 in complaints, 3 in opinions FOIA mentioned only tangentially 46 in complaints, 5 in opinions FOIA not mentioned 147 in complaints, 14 in opinions Failure to respond within statutory time limit 2805 in complaints, 2 in opinions Fee Category 35 in complaints, 19 in opinions Fee Category - All others 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Fee Category - Commercial 3 in complaints, 3 in opinions Fee Category - Media or Educational 32 in complaints, 16 in opinions Fees 23 in complaints, 38 in opinions Fees - Advance Payment 6 in complaints, 6 in opinions Fees - Aggregated requests 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Fees - Commitment to pay 4 in complaints, 22 in opinions Housekeeping 21 in complaints, 173 in opinions Housekeeping - Dismissal of case 3 in complaints, 6 in opinions Litigation 3284 in complaints, 814 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees 2447 in complaints, 3 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Eligibility 0 in complaints, 30 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Eligibility - Causal effect 0 in complaints, 16 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Entitlement - Calculation of award 0 in complaints, 49 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Entitlement - Commercial interest 0 in complaints, 11 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Entitlement - Personal interest 0 in complaints, 11 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Entitlement - Public benefit 0 in complaints, 31 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Entitlement - Reasonable Basis for Withholding 0 in complaints, 19 in opinions Litigation - Attorney's fees - Prevailing party 0 in complaints, 73 in opinions Litigation - Burden of proof 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Litigation - De Novo Review 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Litigation - Discovery 6 in complaints, 40 in opinions Litigation - In camera review 7 in complaints, 38 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction 1 in complaints, 17 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Failure to Exhaust 6 in complaints, 130 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Failure to Respond 4 in complaints, 3 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Failure to State a Claim 5 in complaints, 100 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Injunction 2 in complaints, 7 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Moot 1 in complaints, 35 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Proper Party 0 in complaints, 26 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Standing 1 in complaints, 39 in opinions Litigation - Jurisdiction - Venue 6 in complaints, 11 in opinions Litigation - Recovery of Costs 130 in complaints, 15 in opinions Litigation - Reverse-FOIA 6 in complaints, 9 in opinions Litigation - Reverse-FOIA - Confidential business information 9 in complaints, 6 in opinions Litigation - Reverse-FOIA - Privacy 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Litigation - Sanctions 8 in complaints, 8 in opinions Litigation - Sanctions - Bad faith 1 in complaints, 5 in opinions Litigation - Sanctions - Referral to Special Counsel 5 in complaints, 0 in opinions Litigation - Segregability analysis 3 in complaints, 25 in opinions Litigation - Statute of Limitations 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Litigation - Summary Judgment motion 0 in complaints, 3 in opinions Litigation - Vaughn index 636 in complaints, 50 in opinions Nature of suit incorrect in court records 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Public Interest Fee Waiver 241 in complaints, 55 in opinions Public Interest Fee Waiver - Administrative record 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Public Interest Fee Waiver - Dissemination 3 in complaints, 10 in opinions Public Interest Fee Waiver - Personal interest 0 in complaints, 3 in opinions Public Interest Fee Waiver - Shed light on government activities 0 in complaints, 16 in opinions Public domain 0 in complaints, 32 in opinions Request 10 in complaints, 69 in opinions Request - Perfected request 2 in complaints, 12 in opinions Request - Receipt 0 in complaints, 19 in opinions Request - Specificity 8 in complaints, 34 in opinions Search 6 in complaints, 88 in opinions Search - Consultation 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Search - Detailed description of search 0 in complaints, 19 in opinions Search - Reasonableness of search 3 in complaints, 49 in opinions Search - Referral 2 in complaints, 15 in opinions Segregability 6 in complaints, 26 in opinions Segregability - Disclosure of all non-exempt records 4 in complaints, 21 in opinions Segregability - Inextricably intertwined 0 in complaints, 2 in opinions Time Limits 2 in complaints, 3 in opinions Time Limits - 10-day extension 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Time Limits - 20-day response time 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Time Limits - Constructive exhaustion of administrative remedies 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Time Limits - Exceptional circumstances 0 in complaints, 1 in opinions Time Limits - Tolling of fees 2 in complaints, 1 in opinions Time Limits - Unusual circumstances 0 in complaints, 0 in opinions Withholding not related to exemption claims 22 in complaints, 3 in opinions