U.S. Department
of Justice
Court Decisions Overview
Each year the federal courts issue hundreds of decisions in FOIA cases, addressing all aspects of the law. These decisions shape the way the law is interpreted and applied by the many attorneys and access professionals across the government who handle FOIA requests, administrative appeals, and litigation. To aid those professionals, and to facilitate greater understanding of the FOIA overall, OIP posts summaries of FOIA decisions to this website.
Although we have designed these summaries to reflect the key aspects of each decision, by their nature these are summaries only, and such things as internal citations and quotations have been omitted. Our goal is to provide readers with an overview of the cases as they are decided during the year, but for a complete understanding of any given case readers are, of course, encouraged to read it in its entirety.
Using the Court Decisions Page
This website includes decisions decided since January 2013. Summaries of decisions decided between May 2009 and December 2012 are available in the Court Decisions Archive. All decisions are presented chronologically, based on the date of issuance, with the most recent decision appearing first. Each decision is tagged topically with the relevant exemption or procedural consideration addressed.
You can view all decisions tagged with a particular topic or court by using the “Topic” drop down menu. For example, to see all cases where Exemption 5 is addressed, select “Exemption 5.”
You can search through each decision summary for keywords or phrases using the “Keyword Search” feature. For example, to see all cases with a particular term, such as “e-mail” or “affirming,” you can type in the term or phrase to retrieve all court decision summaries where it appears. You can also use this feature to locate decisions from a particular court by searching for the court acronym, such as “D.C. Cir” for all decisions from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Reeves v. United States, No. 26-0930, 2026 WL 1192723 (S.D.N.Y. May 1, 2026) (Daniels, J.)
Reeves v. United States, No. 26-0930, 2026 WL 1192723 (S.D.N.Y. May 1, 2026) (Daniels, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s FOIA claim
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s FOIA claim
Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that “Plaintiff’s FOIA claims fail for a number of reasons.” “First, the only proper defendant in a FOIA action is the federal agency responsible for retention of the requested...
Gwen v. Jimenez, No. 26-00417, 2026 WL 1211928 (D.D.C. May 1, 2026) (Contreras, J.)
Gwen v. Jimenez, No. 26-00417, 2026 WL 1211928 (D.D.C. May 1, 2026) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for certain court records
Disposition: Dismissing case without prejudice
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court finds that “insofar as Plaintiff contends that some or all of his motions for court records constituted FOIA requests, . . . the federal judiciary, including the...
Webb v. OMB, No. 25-5127, 2026 WL 1179415 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 28, 2026) (per curiam)
Webb v. OMB, No. 25-5127, 2026 WL 1179415 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 28, 2026) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning COVID-19 pandemic
Disposition: Granting company’s motion for summary affirmance; granting government’s motion for summary affirmance
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia holds that “the district court correctly...
Fleck v. Nat’l Credit Union Admin., No. 25-01819, 2026 WL 1146629 (D. Or. Apr. 28, 2026) (Beckerman, Mag. J.)
Fleck v. Nat’l Credit Union Admin., No. 25-01819, 2026 WL 1146629 (D. Or. Apr. 28, 2026) (Beckerman, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning federally chartered, not-for-profit credit union
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for equitable relief; terminating action without prejudice
- Litigation Considerations, Relief; Attorney Fees: The court finds that “money...
N. Clark LLC v. HUD, No. 24-2363, 2026 WL 1141109 (E.D. La. Apr. 28, 2026) (Lemelle, S.J.)
N. Clark LLC v. HUD, No. 24-2363, 2026 WL 1141109 (E.D. La. Apr. 28, 2026) (Lemelle, S.J.)
Re: Request for CRT file concerning plaintiff and plaintiff’s LLC
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Declarations: The court finds that “[t]he declarations submitted contain exhaustive details about the information withheld and the...
Bowman v. E. Orange Veterans Affs. – N.J. Med. Ctr., No. 23-3563, 2026 WL 1146553 (D.N.J. Apr. 28, 2026) (Cecchi, J.)
Bowman v. E. Orange Veterans Affs. – N.J. Med. Ctr., No. 23-3563, 2026 WL 1146553 (D.N.J. Apr. 28, 2026) (Cecchi, J.)
Re: Request for Administrative Investigation Board (“AIB”) report and records concerning report
Disposition: Denying defendant’s motion to dismiss FOIA claim
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings & Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court relates that “Defendants argue that...
Block Club Chi. v. DHS, No. 25-1335, 2026 WL 1098411 (D.D.C. Apr. 23, 2026) (Chutkan, J.)
Block Club Chi. v. DHS, No. 25-1335, 2026 WL 1098411 (D.D.C. Apr. 23, 2026) (Chutkan, J.)
Re: Request for unredacted spreadsheet records from ICE documenting arrests and detentions during Chicago-area immigration enforcement operations in January 2025
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 6; Exemption 7(C): The...
Cheng v. DOJ, No. 23-3983, 2026 WL 1102448 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2026) (Torres, J.)
Cheng v. DOJ, No. 23-3983, 2026 WL 1102448 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2026) (Torres, J.)
Re: Request for “all unclassified documents that former President Donald J. Trump took to his Mar-a-Lago residence from the White House”
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s case without prejudice
- Litigation Considerations: The court looks to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 41(b) and finds that “[t]he totality of...
Perry v. BOP, No. 24-166, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88668 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 22, 2026) (Mizelle, J.)
Perry v. BOP, No. 24-166, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88668 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 22, 2026) (Mizelle, J.)
Re: Request for video recording of particular incident in a federal prison
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s FOIA claim
- Litigation Considerations, Standing: The court relates that “[plaintiff] alleges that, despite the OIP’s direction to the BOP to produce the requested footage, the BOP still has not...
Innovation L. Lab v. ICE, No. 25-00066, 2026 WL 1091798 (D. Or. Apr. 22, 2026) (Nelson, J.)
Innovation L. Lab v. ICE, No. 25-00066, 2026 WL 1091798 (D. Or. Apr. 22, 2026) (Nelson, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning policies and procedures governing defendant’s detention placement and transfer decisions
Disposition: Denying defendant’s motion for stay
- Litigation Considerations: The court relates that “Defendant has not met its burden of demonstrating that the relevant factors weigh in...