Court Decisions

Re: Request for records relating to sexual assault, equal opportunity, sexual harassment, and domestic violence complaints filed by service members in specific years Disposition: Denying plaintiff's motion for reconsideration

• Procedural:  The court concludes that the arguments presented by plaintiff do not satisfy the standard for granting a motion for reconsideration.  The court previously...

Re: Request for records concerning SEC oversight of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), "a nonprofit corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization over all securities firms that do business with the public" Disposition: Granting SEC's motion for summary judgment and finding that SEC properly withheld records pertaining to the SEC examination reports of FINRA pursuant...

Re: Request for records pertaining to radiation emissions produced by Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines used to screen passengers at commercial airports Disposition: Granting partial summary judgment to defendant and plaintiff

• Exemption 3: The court concludes that DHS is entitled to summary judgment on its withholding of [certain] material designated as security sensitive information...

Re: Request for records concerning the development and implementation of Automated Target Recognition (ATR) technology and categorization as "representative of the news media" Disposition: Granting partial summary judgment for defendant and partial summary judgment for plaintiff

• Exemption 3: The court concludes that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is entitled to summary...

Re: Request for plaintiff's employment records, including background check and investigations Disposition: Denying defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Adequacy of Search: The court concludes that defendant's affidavit "does not establish the adequacy of the Department's search for responsive documents." Although the affidavit "adequately described the searches conducted within Human...

Re: Records pertaining to plaintiff Disposition: Denying defendant's motion to dismiss in part and for summary judgment

• Adequacy of Search: The court finds that "the IRS' supporting declarations do not establish compliance with the agency's obligations under the FOIA…[and] 'leave [] substantial doubt as to the sufficiency of the search.'" The declarations are "replete with acronyms and sorely...

Re: Request for records concerning social media monitoring initiatives Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Segregability: The court finds that the agency has met its disclosure obligations for one document. The defendant "has already disclosed all of the nonexempt information in the document – the company name, Cyveillance; the date of the...

Re: Request for records regarding the development of Iraq's energy policy and national hydrocarbon law Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant's motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff's motion for leave to file additional evidence

• Litigation/Policy and Practice Claim: The court notes "plaintiff concedes that he did not state a separate cause of action for any policy...

Re: Request for records pertaining to plaintiff Disposition: Denying plaintiff's motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part defendant's motion for summary judgment; denying defendant's motion to dismiss

• Exhaustion: The court denies defendant's motion to dismiss because although "[n]othing in the record of this case indicates that plaintiff paid search fees in advance, ....

Re: Request for copies of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission's (FCIC) records transferred to NARA Disposition: Granting defendant's motion to dismiss because the Commission's records are not agency records subject to the FOIA

• Agency records: The court holds that the records of the FCIC, a temporary body established within the legislative branch, that were transferred to NARA are not agency...