We have added 8 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between December 8, 2019 and December 14, 2019. These are associated with 7 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAN 4:2019cv01843 — The Center for Investigative Reporting et al v. U.S. Department of Labor
- December 10, 2019: ORDER by Judge Kandis A. Westmore denying Defendant's [24] Motion for Summary Judgment; granting Plaintiffs' [29] Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. (kawlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/10/2019)
FOIA Suits Rise Because Agencies Don’t Respond Even As Requesters Wait Longer To File Suit
In the last few years, the number of FOIA lawsuits has risen dramatically, much faster than the rise in FOIA requests.1 Anecdotal reports suggest that delays in receiving responses to FOIA requests may be increasing and a reason for rising litigation.2 Long delays have always been a hallmark of FOIA. Should these trends continue and cause requesters to head to court, FOIA litigation will also continue to increase. During the summer of 2019, TRAC’s summer legal intern, Samuel Hanks, a second-year student at Georgetown University Law School, explored the possible impact that delays in receiving responses could be having by assembling relevant data and then interviewing plaintiffs’ attorneys to learn more about how delays affect their litigation strategy.
Samuel compiled response dates from the 222 FOIA cases filed in federal district courts from January 2019 through May 2019, noting whether the agency responded to the request, and how much time passed before the lawsuit was filed. These results were then compared to an analogous set of FOIA cases filed from January through May of 2015, a period during which there were 125 such cases filed. 3
The study found that the number of suits challenging agencies substantive responses had not materially changed. Their numbers remained relatively small. Instead, most litigation occurred when agencies failed to respond to FOIA requesters. As shown in Figure 1, suits filed when agencies failed to respond to FOIA requesters have skyrocketed. See Figure 1.
Figure 1. Most FOIA Litigation Occurs Because Agencies Fail to Respond
During the month of November 2019 federal district courts saw a total of 67 new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits filed under 5 U.S.C. 552. To place this number in perspective, 67 new filings compares with a monthly average of 74 filings during the last 12 months. This month’s total brought overall FOIA filings on an annual basis for these last 12 months to 883.
The figure below provides a more detailed view of monthly trends during the past five years. The height of each bar reflects the number of filings in that month. To see the actual filing count mouse over any bar. The superimposed line over the bars is the moving 12-month average. It is computed by adding up the 12 months ending at a given month, and then dividing that total by 12 to obtain the monthly average over this period. Mousing over any bar also shows the calculated result for this moving average for that given month.
read more…
We have added 92 documents from 9 FOIA cases filed between December 1, 2019 and December 7, 2019. 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.
- CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Dec 4, 2019)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted a FOIA request to the Bureau of Prisons for records concerning the agency’s recent attempts to procure three drugs used in federal executions. CREW also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. BOP denied the request entirely, citing a variety of exemptions read more…
We have added 10 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between December 1, 2019 and December 7, 2019. These are associated with 10 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAN 3:2017cv03263 — Electronic Frontier Foundation v. US Department of Justice
- December 3, 2019: ORDER OF DISMISSAL. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 12/3/2019. (knm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/3/2019)
We have added 77 documents from 12 FOIA cases filed between November 24, 2019 and November 30, 2019. 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.
- CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed Nov 25, 2019)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning Katherine Gorka and her role as an advisor to the DHS Office of Policy. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. Nearly two years later, the agency told CREW that it had located 693 responsive pages but disclosed only eight pages in their entirety, citing Exemption 5 (privileges), Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy), Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records), and Exemption 7(E) (investigative methods or techniques) read more…
We have added 12 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between November 24, 2019 and November 30, 2019. These are associated with 12 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAN 3:2018cv01979 — American Small Business League v. Department of Defense
- November 24, 2019: ORDER ON [107] JOINT MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT. Signed by Judge William Alsup. (whalc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/24/2019)
CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET et al
We have added 79 documents from 13 FOIA cases filed between November 17, 2019 and November 23, 2019. 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.
- CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET et al (filed Nov 20, 2019)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted FOIA requests to OMB, Department of Defense, and the Department of State. CREW’s request to OMB asked for records concerning security assistance or military aid to Ukraine. CREW’s requests to DOD and State asked for records concerning communications sent to or from OMB pertaining to security assistance or military aid to Ukraine read more…
We have added 8 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between November 17, 2019 and November 23, 2019. These are associated with 8 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAN 3:2019cv00290 — American Civil Liberties Union Foundation et al v. Department of Justice et al
- November 18, 2019: ORDER by Judge Edward M. Chen Denying [31] Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. (emcsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/18/2019)
We have added 78 documents from 13 FOIA cases filed between November 10, 2019 and November 16, 2019. 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.
- Electronic Frontier Foundation v. United States Department of Homeland Security (filed Nov 12, 2019)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning the use of Rapid DNA testing to detect family fraud. EFF submitted two of its requests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. EFF also requested expediting processing and inclusion in the news media fee category read more…
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