Court opinions issued June 7, 2018

Rosiere v. United States (3rd Cir.) (not precedential) -- affirming district court's decision to dismiss case as malicious, noting that inmate-plaintiff had filed identical lawsuits in other jurisdictions and inundated the government with motions.

Talbot v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- finding that: (1) State Department should have used false birthdates in search for passport and travel records of two deceased CIA agents who plaintiff suspects were aware of CIA’s involvement in JFK's assassination; (2) State Department properly relied on Exemption 6 to withhold (a) names and signatures of State Department employees who processed one of CIA agent's passports, and (b) names, birth dates, and places of birth of CIA agent's then-minor children; (3) CIA improperly declined to search certain operational files for responsive records; and (4) CIA properly withheld documents pursuant to Exemption 3, in conjunction with the CIA Act and the National Security Act, as well as Exemption 6.     

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

Court opinions issued June 5, 2018

Marck v. HHS (D.D.C.) -- finding that FBI properly withheld third-party records pursuant to Exemptions 3, 6, 7(C), and 7(D), and that in camera review was not warranted.

Poet Design & Constr. v. U.S. Dep't of Energy (D.D.C.) -- ruling that company lacked standing to intervene because its lawyer submitted FOIA request without identifying company as client.

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

Court opinion issued June 2, 2018

Am. Oversight v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs (D.D.C.) -- denying government's motion to sever plaintiff's lawsuit into seventeen separate actions, all of which concern requests for records about Trump Administration nominees.  Among the arguments advanced by defendants (and rejected) were that the court would be deprived of filing fees and that severing the case would promote efficiency. 

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

FOIA News: Historical NSA posters released

Today Government Attic released 136 copies of National Security Agency security/motivational posters from the 1950s and 1960s. Enjoy. 

Court opinion issued June 1, 2018

Pub. Employees for Envtl. Responsibility v. EPA (D.D.C.) -- ruling that plaintiff's following two-part request was neither unreasonably described nor unduly burdensome:  (1) agency records that Administrator Pruitt relied upon to support his statements in his CNBC interview" on March 9, 2017, regarding impact of human activity on climate; and (2) "EPA documents, studies, reports, or guidance material that support the conclusion that human activity is not the largest factor driving global climate change."

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

Court opinions issued May 25, 2018

A Better Way for BPA v. U.S. Dep't of Energy (9th Cir.) -- reversing district court's decision that plaintiff did not have standing to file lawsuit because of "the submitted form’s unambiguous reference to A Better Way, confirming correspondence, and common sense." 

Physicians Comm. for Responsible Med. v. USDA (D.D.C.) -- concluding that requested records possessed by National Cattle Beef Association were not created, obtained, or controlled by agency and, thus, were not "agency records." 

Animal Legal Def. Fund v. USDA (N.D. Cal.) -- holding that expedited FOIA processing standard for "imminent threat to life or safety of an individual" excludes threats to animals -- in this case, a Siberian-Bengal tiger named "Tony."

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

Court opinions issued May 24, 2018

Grand Canyon Tr. v. Zinke (D.D.C.) -- denying plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees and costs in case involving the Federal Coal Program after finding that Office of Secretary and BLM "had begun processing the plaintiff’s request well before this lawsuit was initiated and that both agencies had even made partial releases to the plaintiff before the complaint was filed."

Sai v. TSA (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) agency failed to prove that it could not have “readily” produced responsive records or legible copies of six pages; (2) agency failed to search four offices that were likely to maintain responsive records; (3) agency failed to show that it properly invoked Exemption 3 with respect to information that another requester received; (4) agency failed to demonstrate that certain information concerning agency employees was properly withheld under Exemption 6.

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

Court opinion issued May 23, 2018

Pinson v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- granting summary judgment to Federal Bureau of Prisons on eight of ten requests; finding that BOP failed to justify use of Exemption 6 on four documents and Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F) on one document. 

Pinson v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- denying government's unopposed renewed summary motion because Executive Office for United States Attorneys Office failed to show that it performed reasonable search in response to plaintiff's two requests for case files.  

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

Court opinions issued May 22, 2018

Elec. Privacy Info. Ctr. v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- ruling that FBI conducted adequate search for records concerning Russian interference in 2016 presidential election, and that it properly withheld non-segregable records under Exemptions 1, 3, and 7(A).

Hall & Assoc. v. EPA (D.D.C.) -- concluding that with few exceptions, EPA properly relied on Exemption 5 to withhold records concerning agency's non-acquiescence to 2013 Eighth Circuit decision about water treatment regulation; further, denying plaintiff's motion to strike, motion for discovery, and request for sanctions after finding that EPA did not act in bad faith before or during litigation.  

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

Court opinion issued May 21, 2018

Roble v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- holding that Executive Office for United States Attorneys properly relied on Exemption 3 to withhold grand jury minutes pertaining to plaintiff's  criminal indictment.

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.