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.
Marker v. U.S. Dep’t of Educ., No. 23-05873, 2024 WL 68554 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 5, 2024) (Scott Corley, J.)
Marker v. U.S. Dep’t of Educ., No. 23-05873, 2024 WL 68554 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 5, 2024) (Scott Corley, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s student loans
Disposition: Screening plaintiff’s amended complaint and allowing service of amended complaint on defendant
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that, “[i]nterpreting the complaint ‘liberally,’ Plaintiff has pled...
Frost Brown Todd LLC v. Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs., No. 21-2784, 2024 WL 450056 (D.D.C. Feb. 5, 2024) (Chutkan, J.)
Frost Brown Todd LLC v. Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs., No. 21-2784, 2024 WL 450056 (D.D.C. Feb. 5, 2024) (Chutkan, J.)
Re: Six requests for records concerning Medicare program
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s partial motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies; Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests: The court...
Sherven v. NSA, No. 23-603, 2024 WL 418745 (W.D. Wis. Feb. 5, 2024) (Peterson, J.)
Sherven v. NSA, No. 23-603, 2024 WL 418745 (W.D. Wis. Feb. 5, 2024) (Peterson, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s allegation that he submitted three FOIA requests to NSA
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint without prejudice
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings & Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court finds that “[plaintiff’s] complaint has two problems.” “First, he hasn’t provided...
Checksfield v. IRS, No. 21-1180, 2024 WL 21549 (N.D.N.Y. Jan. 2, 2024) (Suddaby, J.)
Checksfield v. IRS, No. 21-1180, 2024 WL 21549 (N.D.N.Y. Jan. 2, 2024) (Suddaby, J.)
Re: Request for certain third-party tax records
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; granting defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 3: “Regarding Plaintiff’s repeated arguments that Exemption 3 was misapplied, the Court finds that [defendant’s] Declaration . . . is...
United States v. Datta, No. 11-0102, 14-8653, 2024 LEXIS 21026 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 2, 2024) (Kaplan, J.)
United States v. Datta, No. 11-0102, 14-8653, 2024 LEXIS 21026 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 2, 2024) (Kaplan, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning plaintiff’s criminal case
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s application
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings; Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court relates that “[plaintiff] now purports to move pursuant to the [FOIA] – both in the...
Bebris v. Nat’l Ctr. for Missing & Exploited Child., Inc., No. 23-03715, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23853 (D.D.C. Feb. 2, 2024) (Cooper, J.)
Bebris v. Nat’l Ctr. for Missing & Exploited Child., Inc., No. 23-03715, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23853 (D.D.C. Feb. 2, 2024) (Cooper, J.)
Re: Requests for certain information and statistics
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s case
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court holds that “[defendant] . . . is a non-profit organization that is not subject to the FOIA, which...
Webb v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 23-816, 2024 WL 379818 (D.D.C. Feb. 1, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Webb v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 23-816, 2024 WL 379818 (D.D.C. Feb. 1, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Re: Request for certain records concerning COVID-19
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion to dismiss
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court finds that “[plaintiff’s] allegations against Meta fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” “The Amended...
In Re Wallace, No. 23-31785, 2024 WL 390806 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 31, 2024) (Gustafson, J.)
In Re Wallace, No. 23-31785, 2024 WL 390806 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 31, 2024) (Gustafson, J.)
Re: Document that “purports to be a [FOIA] Request”
Disposition: Denying request
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court finds that “there is no legal authority for Debtor’s Request requiring information from the court.” “[W]hile the FOIA applies to any government ‘Agency’ the...
Sherven v. CIA, No. 23-03214, 2024 WL 519809 (D.D.C. Jan. 30, 2024) (Cooper, J.)
Sherven v. CIA, No. 23-03214, 2024 WL 519809 (D.D.C. Jan. 30, 2024) (Cooper, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s allegation that “he has submitted ‘numerous’ requests under the [FOIA] to the CIA and the [NSA] seeking ‘information on mind-control, mind-reading, illegal human experimentation, and illegal spying programs’”
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s case
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The...
Wilson v. FBI, No. 23-137, 2024 WL 314665 (2d Cir. Jan. 29, 2024) (per curiam)
Wilson v. FBI, No. 23-137, 2024 WL 314665 (2d Cir. Jan. 29, 2024) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning requester
Disposition: Affirming district court’s denial of requester’s motion for attorney fees
- Attorney Fees, Eligibility: The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit notes that “[t]he parties do not dispute that [the requester] is statutorily eligible for a fee award under...