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.
Black Hills Clean Water All. v. U.S. Forest Serv., No. 20-5034, 2024 WL 2060555 (D.S.D. May 8, 2024) (Piersol, J.)
Black Hills Clean Water All. v. U.S. Forest Serv., No. 20-5034, 2024 WL 2060555 (D.S.D. May 8, 2024) (Piersol, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning exploratory gold drilling
Disposition: Awarding plaintiff $208,462.39 in attorney fees
- Attorney Fees, Calculations: The court relates that “[o]n February 14, 2024, this Court granted Plaintiff[’s] motion for attorney fees after finding...
Organized Cmtys. Against Deportations v. ICE, No. 21-2519, 2024 WL 2053123 (N.D. Ill. May 8, 2024) (Blakey, J.)
Organized Cmtys. Against Deportations v. ICE, No. 21-2519, 2024 WL 2053123 (N.D. Ill. May 8, 2024) (Blakey, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning ICE’s “Citizens Academy” programs
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of...
Sharpe v. U.S. Fed. Highway Admin., No. 24-0045, 2024 WL 2064051 (E.D. Wash. May 8, 2024) (Rice, J.)
Sharpe v. U.S. Fed. Highway Admin., No. 24-0045, 2024 WL 2064051 (E.D. Wash. May 8, 2024) (Rice, J.)
Re: Request for communications exchanged between two employees over a two-year period
Disposition: Plaintiff’s motion to dismiss is granted
- Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests: “The Court finds that Plaintiff’s email is impermissibly vague, and therefore does not constitute a...
Boundaoui v. FBI, No. 17-4782, 2024 WL 2019532 (N.D. Ill. May 3, 2024) (Durkin, J.)
Boundaoui v. FBI, No. 17-4782, 2024 WL 2019532 (N.D. Ill. May 3, 2024) (Durkin, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning “Operation Vulgar Betrayal” (“OVB”)
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, In Camera Inspection &...
Hirschfield v. United States, No. 2024-1338, 2024 WL 1953604 (Fed. Cir. May 3, 2024) (per curiam)
Hirschfield v. United States, No. 2024-1338, 2024 WL 1953604 (Fed. Cir. May 3, 2024) (per curiam)
Re: Complaint that several federal, state, and local entities and officials violated the FOIA “during a ‘previous civil case filed in the United States Courts District of Columbia’”
Disposition: Granting government’s motion for summary affirmance of Court of Federal Claims’ sua sponte...
VRA Enterprises, LLC v. Ctr. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs., No. 23-02474, 2024 WL 1907400 (M.D. Fla. May 1, 2024) (Jung, J.)
VRA Enterprises, LLC v. Ctr. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs., No. 23-02474, 2024 WL 1907400 (M.D. Fla. May 1, 2024) (Jung, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning reimbursement of plaintiff for Covid-19 test kits
Disposition: Denying defendants’ motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court finds that “OIG’s letter did not trigger the...
Esseily v. Hochul, No. 24-2932, 2024 WL 1908320 (S.D.N.Y. May 1, 2024) (Schofield, J.)
Esseily v. Hochul, No. 24-2932, 2024 WL 1908320 (S.D.N.Y. May 1, 2024) (Schofield, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning 1987 robbery
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court holds that “to the extent Plaintiff seeks police records about the 1987 robbery, the federal FOIA statute, 5 U.S.C. § 552, applies only to...
Zynovieva v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 23-5120, 2024 WL 1946592 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 30, 2024) (per curium)
Zynovieva v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 23-5120, 2024 WL 1946592 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 30, 2024) (per curium)
Re: Request for records concerning requester
Disposition: Granting government’s motion for summary affirmance of district court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees and costs
- Litigation Considerations, Standard of Review; Attorney Fees, Eligibility: The Court of Appeals for...
Heritage Found. v. DOJ, No. 23-1148, 2024 WL 1856418 (D.D.C. Apr. 29, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Heritage Found. v. DOJ, No. 23-1148, 2024 WL 1856418 (D.D.C. Apr. 29, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Re: Request for records concerning “communications regarding . . . a former Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, who has (whether fairly or not) come under congressional and media scrutiny over allegations of partisan bias and other misconduct”
Disposition: ...
Accuracy in Media, Inc. v. DOD, No. 14-1589, 2024 WL 1833851 (D.D.C. Apr. 26, 2024) (Alikhan, J.)
Accuracy in Media, Inc. v. DOD, No. 14-1589, 2024 WL 1833851 (D.D.C. Apr. 26, 2024) (Alikhan, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning September 11, 2012 attacks on U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 7(A): “The court concludes that the FD-302s were properly...