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.
Scarlett v. OIG, No. 21-819, 2024 WL 960998 (D.D.C. Mar. 6, 2024) (Moss, J.)
Scarlett v. OIG, No. 21-819, 2024 WL 960998 (D.D.C. Mar. 6, 2024) (Moss, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning complaint against plaintiff
Disposition: Granting defendant’s renewed motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: “The Court . . . concludes that the agency has demonstrated that it made a ‘good faith effort to conduct a search for the requested...
United for FBI Integrity v. DOJ, No. 22-2885, 2024 WL 961001 (D.D.C. Mar. 6, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
United for FBI Integrity v. DOJ, No. 22-2885, 2024 WL 961001 (D.D.C. Mar. 6, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning former FBI Associate Deputy Director’s retirement and any possible allegations of misconduct against the former Associate Deputy Director
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying...
Akel v. DOJ, No. 20-3240, 2024 WL 939974 (D.D.C. Mar. 4, 2024) (Moss, J.)
Akel v. DOJ, No. 20-3240, 2024 WL 939974 (D.D.C. Mar. 4, 2024) (Moss, J.)
Re: Request for “‘[a]ll ex parte communications between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida’” concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Granting defendant’s third motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s third cross-motion...
Leopold v. DOJ, No. 22-5300, 2024 WL 875794 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 1, 2024) (Rodgers, J.)
Leopold v. DOJ, No. 22-5300, 2024 WL 875794 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 1, 2024) (Rodgers, J.)
Re: Request for report crafted by independent monitor pursuant to deferred prosecution agreement with bank charged with violating anti-money-laundering and sanctions compliance laws
Disposition: Vacating district court’s grant of defendant’s renewed motion for summary judgment; remanding case
- Exemption 8...
Tobias v. U.S. Dep’t of Interior, No. 22-167, 2024 WL 894925 (D.D.C. Mar. 1, 2024) (Howell, J.)
Tobias v. U.S. Dep’t of Interior, No. 22-167, 2024 WL 894925 (D.D.C. Mar. 1, 2024) (Howell, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning white paper titled “The Proper Scope of Environmental Analysis of Roadway Impacts”
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege: The court...
US Right to Know v. Nat’l Nuclear Sec. Admin., No. 23-343, 2024 WL 865878 (D.N.M. Feb. 29, 2024) (Johnson, C.J.)
US Right to Know v. Nat’l Nuclear Sec. Admin., No. 23-343, 2024 WL 865878 (D.N.M. Feb. 29, 2024) (Johnson, C.J.)
Re: Request for records concerning origin of COVID-19 and/or SARS-CoV-2, as well as concerning certain government employees
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: “The Court finds and concludes that there...
Biear v. Att’y Gen. U.S., No. 23-2557, 2024 WL 837039 (3d Cir. Feb. 28, 2024) (per curiam)
Biear v. Att’y Gen. U.S., No. 23-2557, 2024 WL 837039 (3d Cir. Feb. 28, 2024) (per curiam)
Re: Requests for records concerning requester
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant in part of government’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations: The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit relates that “[the requester] contends that the District Court did ‘not completely...
Nat’l Ass’n of Minority Veterans v. VA, No. 21-1298, 2024 WL 810032 (D.D.C. Feb. 27, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Nat’l Ass’n of Minority Veterans v. VA, No. 21-1298, 2024 WL 810032 (D.D.C. Feb. 27, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning policies and practices of VA Police Force at Veterans Health Administration facilities
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s renewed motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s renewed cross...
AMA Systems, LLC v. FDA, No. 23-489, 2024 WL 712465 (D. Md. Feb. 21, 2024) (Boardman, J.)
AMA Systems, LLC v. FDA, No. 23-489, 2024 WL 712465 (D. Md. Feb. 21, 2024) (Boardman, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning Emergency Use Authorizations (“EUA”) for personal protective equipment (“PPE”)
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s request for discovery; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Discovery: The court...
Louise Trauma Ctr. LLC v. DHS, No. 21-2371, 2024 WL 687948 (D.D.C. Feb. 20, 2024) (Bates, J.)
Louise Trauma Ctr. LLC v. DHS, No. 21-2371, 2024 WL 687948 (D.D.C. Feb. 20, 2024) (Bates, J.)
Re: Request for “all records concerning the documentation center maintained by the Director of International Affairs”
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests: The court...