Q. What are the consequences for a government agency which doesn’t meet the deadline (by a few months) for an administrative appeal for a declined FOIA request?
A. Assuming we’re talking about a federal agency, a requester is entitled to file a lawsuit when the agency misses its deadline to issue a final determination in response to an administrative appeal. No other legal relief is available under the statute. Should you file a lawsuit and substantially prevail, you may be able to recover any attorney’s fees and costs. The agency’s delay in responding would not, by itself, entitle a FOIA plaintiff to any recovery, however.