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.
Am. Wild Horse Campaign v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., No. 22-3061, 2024 WL 3967256 (D.D.C. Aug. 26, 2024) (Cooper, J.)
Am. Wild Horse Campaign v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., No. 22-3061, 2024 WL 3967256 (D.D.C. Aug. 26, 2024) (Cooper, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning handling of plaintiff’s report on purported inhumane treatment of animals in defendant’s care
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees and costs
- Attorney Fees, Eligibility: The court holds that “[plaintiff] has not met that...
Reclaim the Records v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 23-1529, 2024 WL 3938296 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 26, 2024) (Caproni, J.)
Reclaim the Records v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 23-1529, 2024 WL 3938296 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 26, 2024) (Caproni, J.)
Re: Request for “‘the Index or finding aid to the Reports of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad’” from 1975 to present
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: The court...
Mullane v. DOJ, No. 23-1094, 2024 WL 3912197 (1st Cir. Aug. 23, 2024) (Montecalvo, J.)
Mullane v. DOJ, No. 23-1094, 2024 WL 3912197 (1st Cir. Aug. 23, 2024) (Montecalvo, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning the requester
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit holds that “DOJ conducted an adequate search for...
Jud. Watch, Inc. v. HHS, No. 22-3051, 2024 WL 3924563 (D.D.C. Aug. 23, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Jud. Watch, Inc. v. HHS, No. 22-3051, 2024 WL 3924563 (D.D.C. Aug. 23, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning human fetal tissue collection
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 6: The court holds that “NIH properly withheld the names and titles of the two signatories of [a] [l]etter...
Eakin v. DOD, No. 16-0972, 2024 WL 3952593 (W.D. Tex. Aug. 23, 2024) (Lamberth, J.)
Eakin v. DOD, No. 16-0972, 2024 WL 3952593 (W.D. Tex. Aug. 23, 2024) (Lamberth, J.)
Re: Requests for “‘World War II era’” digitally scanned deceased personnel files
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss; denying as moot defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment; denying as moot plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other...
Holmes-Hamilton v. FBI, No. 21-2927, 2024 WL 3924558 (D.D.C. Aug. 23, 2024) (McFadden, J.)
Holmes-Hamilton v. FBI, No. 21-2927, 2024 WL 3924558 (D.D.C. Aug. 23, 2024) (McFadden, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning investigatory materials that Dominican Republic law enforcement either shared with or requested from the FBI, regarding several Americans who died mysteriously on vacations in the Dominican Republic
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying...
Libarov v. ICE, No. 22-6414, 2024 WL 3888761 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 21, 2024) (Cummings, J.)
Libarov v. ICE, No. 22-6414, 2024 WL 3888761 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 21, 2024) (Cummings, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
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, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court holds that “it is...
Pretzman v. Mayorkas, No. 23-2577, 2024 WL 3887384 (D.D.C. Aug. 20, 2024) (Kelly, J.)
Pretzman v. Mayorkas, No. 23-2577, 2024 WL 3887384 (D.D.C. Aug. 20, 2024) (Kelly, J.)
Re: Request for information regarding with which entities plaintiff’s information was shared
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Proper FOIA Requests: The court holds that “[plaintiff] failed to state a claim under FOIA – either one for wrongfully withholding a...
Citizens for Resp. & Ethics in Wash. v. DOJ, No. 19-2267, 2024 WL 3387374 (D.D.C. Aug. 20, 2024) (Alikhan, J.)
Citizens for Resp. & Ethics in Wash. v. DOJ, No. 19-2267, 2024 WL 3387374 (D.D.C. Aug. 20, 2024) (Alikhan, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning investigation into potential campaign finance violations and obstruction of justice by individuals associated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying...
Abhyanker v. U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off., No. 23-00746, 2024 WL 3908107 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 19, 2024) (Martínez-Olguín, J.)
Abhyanker v. U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off., No. 23-00746, 2024 WL 3908107 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 19, 2024) (Martínez-Olguín, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning USPTO ethics investigation into plaintiff’s legal practice
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: The court notes that plaintiff’s request “sought...