Montgomery v. IRS (D.D.C.) -- in witty-styled opinion, ruling that settlement agreement between parties concerning tax matters did not preclude plaintiff from filing FOIA lawsuit, nor did the doctrines of collateral estoppel or res judicata.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General issued a final rule appearing in today's Federal Register that revises the agency's FOIA regulations. The amendments will align OIG's regulations with that of the Department's (which were revised in January 2017), implement the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, and explain the office's FOIA policies and practices. The amended regulation will take effect on March 23, 2018.
Nat'l Endowment for the Humanities
Council of the Inspectors Generals on Integrity & Efficiency
Inst. of Museum & Library Serv.
Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n
The Department of Justice will post a list of all 2017 annual agency reports here.
Carlson v. USPS (N.D. Cal.) -- finding that plaintiff did not present "clear and convincing" evidence that judgment -- which was partially favorable to plaintiff -- should be vacated to permit plaintiff to revive challenges to Exemption 5 withholdings and adequacy of agency's search.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
By Bryan Koenig, Law360, Feb. 16, 2018
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton found himself in a difficult position last month, caught between the obligation for a speedy government response to a Freedom of Information Act request and the strain federal agencies and courts are under as FOIA litigation surges under the Trump administration.
Congress, the D.C. federal judge said from the bench, has required agencies to produce documents at a reasonable clip but lawmakers only give limited resources to accomplish the task.
Read more here (subscription required)
The Postal Regulatory Commission will revise its Freedom of Information Act regulations pertaining to confidential business information, according to a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2018. Comments are due by March 23, 2018.
By CJ Ciaramella, Reason, Feb. 16, 2018
I've seen a lot of weird Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) redactions. I've seen redacted complaints about Amtrak snack cars and the CIA cafeteria. I've seen pictures of FBI retirement parties where all the faces were replaced by blank squares, resulting in an oddly artistic tableau.
But duct tape is a new one.
Chris Horner, a longtime FOIA requester and litigator, tweeted out pictures today of a set of emails he received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) back in 2015.
Read more here.
Actual EPA FOIA production pic.twitter.com/FetLAH0vUE
— Chris Horner (@Chris_C_Horner) February 16, 2018
By Jessica Kwong , Newsweek, Feb. 16, 2018
The Office of American Innovation, led by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has been sued for allegedly attempting to skirt federal transparency laws while shaping the administration’s infrastructure policy.
The nonprofits Democracy Forward and Food & Water Watch filed the lawsuit Thursday after the Kushner-led office “ignored” Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The organizations made FOIA requests to see whether policy-making was being improperly influenced by conflicts of interest within the Trump administration, Food & Water Watch senior staff attorney Zachary Corrigan told Newsweek.
Read more here.
By USDA/APHIS, Feb. 16, 2018
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is launching a new “Frequently Requested Records” page on our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) e-reading room, in accordance with the FOIA statute. The new page will contain copies of frequently requested records, making it easier for our stakeholders to find information.
On the new page, we will post copies of FOIA-processed records that have been requested and released three or more times. We will also post items we believe are likely to be requested multiple times. Finally, on this page, APHIS may in its discretion also post records that it believes are of interest to the public, regardless of a legal requirement to do so. The page is searchable by keyword or program. APHIS will continue to update this page on a monthly basis.
Read more here.
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- finding that agency performed reasonable search for records concerning Attorney General's recusal from certain matters related to 2016 presidential campaign. Although plaintiff did not dispute DOJ's search methodology, it argued that the agency's search nonetheless was unreasonable because plaintiff believed that certain documents should have been located, such as an updated calendar and written advice to the Attorney General. The court rejected plaintiff's belief as "nothing but supposition," noting that it was "hardly surprising that a busy day might turn out differently for a senior government official than was planned on his calendar. Nor is it unheard of that an official might receive sensitive advice orally rather than in writing."
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.