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.
Bermudez v. EOIR, No. 22-01032, 2024 WL 3570022 (W.D. La. July 29, 2024) (Perez-Montes, Mag. J.)
Bermudez v. EOIR, No. 22-01032, 2024 WL 3570022 (W.D. La. July 29, 2024) (Perez-Montes, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for plaintiff’s immigration court case
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees
- Attorney Fees, Eligibility: The court relates that “[plaintiff] asserts he substantially prevailed through the latter theory – referred to by courts as the ‘catalyst theory.’” The...
Cabezas v. FBI, No. 22-5170, 2024 WL 3547243 (D.C. Cir. July 26, 2024) (Rogers, J.)
Cabezas v. FBI, No. 22-5170, 2024 WL 3547243 (D.C. Cir. July 26, 2024) (Rogers, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning requester’s conviction for receipt of child pornography
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment and denial of requester’s motion for discovery and in camera inspection
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: The...
Louise Trauma Ctr., LLC v. USCIS, No. 23-2846, 2024 WL 3555043 (D. Md. July 26, 2024) (Bennett, J.)
Louise Trauma Ctr., LLC v. USCIS, No. 23-2846, 2024 WL 3555043 (D. Md. July 26, 2024) (Bennett, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning training and performance of asylum officers, as well as a copy of Credible Fear Procedures Manual
Disposition: In pertinent part, granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal & Exhaustion of...
Inst. for Energy Rsch. v. FERC, No. 22-3419, 2024 WL 3534700 (D.D.C. July 25, 2024) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.)
Inst. for Energy Rsch. v. FERC, No. 22-3419, 2024 WL 3534700 (D.D.C. July 25, 2024) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning FERC’s processing of previous FOIA requests made by plaintiff for records related to communications between FERC and the White House
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 5, “Inter-Agency or Intra-Agency” Threshold...
Children’s Health Def. v. CDC, No. 23-00431, 2024 WL 3521593 (D.D.C. July 24, 2024) (McFadden, J.)
Children’s Health Def. v. CDC, No. 23-00431, 2024 WL 3521593 (D.D.C. July 24, 2024) (McFadden, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System database
Disposition: Granting in part defendant’s partial motion to stay
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court “[c]onsider[s] first [plaintiff’s]...
Carter v. Wasko, No. 22-04103, 2024 WL 3522017 (D.S.D. July 24, 2024) (Lange, C.J.)
Carter v. Wasko, No. 22-04103, 2024 WL 3522017 (D.S.D. July 24, 2024) (Lange, C.J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s allegation concerning “unauthorized release of [plaintiff’s] medical records”
Disposition: Denying defendant’s motion to re-screen complaint following dismissal
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings; Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court holds that “[i]n general...
Cole v. Locascio, No. 15-1991, 2024 WL 3509489 (D.D.C. July 22, 2024) (Sullivan, J.)
Cole v. Locascio, No. 15-1991, 2024 WL 3509489 (D.D.C. July 22, 2024) (Sullivan, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning collapse of World Trade Center (“WTC”) on September 11, 2001
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; dismissing plaintiff’s claim as moot; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Liti...
Doshi v. Blinken, No. 23-3613, 2024 WL 3509486 (D.D.C. July 22, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Doshi v. Blinken, No. 23-3613, 2024 WL 3509486 (D.D.C. July 22, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning one plaintiff’s designation under Section 7031(c) of Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, rendering him and members of his family ineligible to enter United States
Disposition: Denying plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations...
Kowal v. DOJ, No. 22-5231, 22-5287, 2024 WL 3418844 (D.C. Cir. July 16, 2024) (Rao, J.)
Kowal v. DOJ, No. 22-5231, 22-5287, 2024 WL 3418844 (D.C. Cir. July 16, 2024) (Rao, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning capital defendant
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search; Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records: The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia...
Washington v. Phillip Burton Fed. Bldg., No. 23-06180, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124305 (N.D. Cal. July 15, 2024) (Alsup, J.)
Washington v. Phillip Burton Fed. Bldg., No. 23-06180, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124305 (N.D. Cal. July 15, 2024) (Alsup, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s nationality identification
Disposition: Adopting magistrate’s report and recommendation; dismissing plaintiff’s complaint
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court relates that the magistrate judge reported that...