FOIA Advisor

Court opinions issued Jan. 21, 2021

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

WP Co. v. SBA (D.D.C.) -- awarding litigations costs and all but around twenty percent of attorney fees in case involving loans approved pursuant to COVID-19 relief programs. In reaching its decision, the court found that plaintiffs were entitled to fees even though government had a reasonable basis for initially withholding requested data.

White v. DOJ (S.D. Ill.) -- declining to hold U.S. Marshals Service in contempt or to award plaintiff litigation costs, but stating that: (1) agency’s delay in responding to plaintiff’s 2013 request was “appalling”; (2) it was “inexcusable” that agency was unprepared for “foreseeable and regular complications”; and (3) USMS “must upgrade its FOIA processing protocols to avoid such delinquencies in the future.”

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