FOIA Advisor

Court opinion issued May 7, 2026

Court Opinions (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

Democracy Forward Found. v. SSA (D. Md.) -- denying plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment in a case involving fee waiver denials on three of four FOIA requests; holding that the court lacked jurisdiction under FOIA to review the SSA's fee waiver denials because the SSA had imposed fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1306(c), a separate statute that applies "[n]otwithstanding" FOIA and permits the agency to charge requesters the full cost of responding to requests not directly related to the administration of Social Security programs; noting that FOIA's judicial review provision extends only to "action by a requester regarding the waiver of fees under this section," meaning FOIA itself, and that fees imposed under § 1306(c) fall outside that provision; rejecting plaintiff's argument that jurisdiction was conferred by SSA's own regulations, which purported to make § 1306(c) fee waiver decisions subject to judicial review under FOIA, because 'a regulation cannot grant a federal court jurisdiction when Congress has not done so.'"

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.