Elec. Privacy Info. Ctr. v. FBI, 12-667 2013 WL 1245752 (D.D.C. Mar. 28, 2013) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.)

Date

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Re: Request for records concerning cell-site simulator technology use by the FBI Disposition: Denying defendant's request for an Open America stay

Stay: The court denies the FBI's request for an Open America stay. It finds that "the number of FOIA and Privacy Act requests received by the FBI increased during FY 2012 as compared to the prior year, but overall the number of requests the FBI receives on a yearly basis has decreased significantly since FY 2008." In addition, although the court states that the "average size of such requests has nearly doubled since FY 2009," it also notes that "the FBI readily admits that [the] increase is due to agency regulations." The court also finds that "the FBI did not provide [it] with sufficient information from which it could conclude that the overall complexity of the FBI's workload has increased over time." Although the court acknowledges that "[t]he amount of classified material involved in EPIC's request as well as EPIC's refusal to narrow its request" do support a stay, "considering the record as a whole, exceptional circumstances do not exist." Finally, the court concludes that the FBI has not "made reasonable progress in reducing its backlog" because "the increase in its backlog of requests is vastly disproportionate to the increased number of requests."

Court Decision Topic(s)

District Court opinions

Litigation Considerations, “Open America” Stays of Proceedings

Updated January 29, 2020