FOIA Advisor

Court opinions issued Aug. 29, 2019

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Animal Legal Def. Fund v. USDA (9th Cir.) -- in 2-1 decision, holding that statute authorized courts to order agencies to comply with “reading room” provisions (in this case, online posting of “frequently requested” records generated by the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service) and remanding to district court to determine whether plaintiffs had exhausted their administrative remedies.

Junk v. Bd. of Governors of Fed. Reserve Sys. (S.D.N.Y.) -- concluding that records concerning three loans issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York do not constitute agency records of the Board.

White Coat Waste Project v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs (D.D.C.) -- ruling that agency improperly relied on deliberative process privilege to withhold name of principal investigator on animal research protocol, and that agency failed to provide it with sufficient information to determine whether principal investigator's name was properly withheld under Exemption 6.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.