Court Decisions

Re: Request for records "related to whether any service member's deaths may have resulted from bullet wounds in torso areas that are usually covered by body armor" Disposition: Granting defendant's motion with regard to applicability of Exemption 5 to preliminary autopsy reports, but ordering defendant to provide more information regarding the segregability of factual material within the reports...

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff and his minor child Disposition: Granting State's motion for summary judgment in part and denying plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment

• Adequacy of Search: The court concludes that State is entitled to summary judgment with regard to the adequacy of its search for responsive records.  The court finds that plaintiff's "speculative argument...

Re: Plaintiff's request for records concerning his incarceration requested for first time in complaint against prison officials Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff's claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies

• Exhaustion/Procedural: The court dismisses plaintiff's FOIA request, noting that "[t]he filing of a complaint in federal court is not the proper mechanism for making an initial...

Re: Request for records relating to a graduated response system, "'a progressively escalating response system' that promotes legitimate use of copyrighted information and deters infringing activity" Disposition: Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 4 & Public domain: The court holds that OMB properly invoked Exemption 4 to withhold drafts of a memorandum of understanding...

Re: Specific data from 2009 provided to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by all Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAO) reflecting MAO's actual costs expected to provide offered Medicare benefits

Disposition: Denying defendants' motion for summary judgment; granting plaintiff's motion for summary judgment; declining to address plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees and costs

• Exe...

Re: Requests for e-mails among certain individuals, an investigative report, and Outlook calendar Disposition: Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Adequacy of Search:  The court finds that "Interior's search was adequate and reasonable."  The requests were processed by the Interior's Office of the Secretary and "forwarded . . . to other offices for searches in accord with the type...

Re: Request for records used to calculate plaintiff's original and adjusted Railroad Retirement Board benefit amounts Disposition: Granting plaintiff's motion for summary judgment; denying defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Adequacy of Search:  The court finds “that Defendant improperly withheld agency records because Defendant has not established that its search for responsive documents...

Re: Request for records pertaining to plaintiff's EEOC complaints and EEOC policies Disposition: Granting DOJ's motion to dismiss; granting EEOC's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 5/Deliberative Process Privilege:  The EEOC withheld "three words from two recommendation memoranda and language in two sections of four assessment forms."  The “documents were prepared by the EEOC investigator...

Re: Various FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Review requests submitted to defendant Disposition: Granting in part and deny in party defendant's partial motion to dismiss

• Litigation Consideration/Standing:  The court finds "plaintiffs have failed to establish that they have Article III standing to bring their policy-or-practice claims."  The case law “establish[es] that plaintiffs do not have...

Re: Request for results of an audit by American Correctional Association of FMC-Lexington Disposition: Granting in part plaintiff's motion for court costs

• Attorney Fees and Costs:  The court concludes that analysis of plaintiff's eligibility to receive a portion of his filing fee is "unnecessary" because "it is undisputed that [plaintiff]'s FOIA request languished in the BOP/FOIA office for two...