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Court Decisions Overview

Each year the federal courts issue hundreds of decisions in FOIA cases, addressing all aspects of the law.  These decisions shape the way the law is interpreted and applied by the many attorneys and access professionals across the government who handle FOIA requests, administrative appeals, and litigation.  To aid those professionals, and to facilitate greater understanding of the FOIA overall, OIP posts summaries of FOIA decisions to this website.

Although we have designed these summaries to reflect the key aspects of each decision, by their nature these are summaries only, and such things as internal citations and quotations have been omitted.  Our goal is to provide readers with an overview of the cases as they are decided during the year, but for a complete understanding of any given case readers are, of course, encouraged to read it in its entirety.

Using the Court Decisions Page

This website includes decisions decided since January 2013.  Summaries of decisions decided between May 2009 and December 2012 are available in the Court Decisions Archive.  All decisions are presented chronologically, based on the date of issuance, with the most recent decision appearing first.  Each decision is tagged topically with the relevant exemption or procedural consideration addressed.

You can view all decisions tagged with a particular topic or court by using the “Topic” drop down menu.  For example, to see all cases where Exemption 5 is addressed, select “Exemption 5.” 

You can search through each decision summary for keywords or phrases using the “Keyword Search” feature.  For example, to see all cases with a particular term, such as “e-mail” or “affirming,” you can type in the term or phrase to retrieve all court decision summaries where it appears.  You can also use this feature to locate decisions from a particular court by searching for the court acronym, such as “D.C. Cir” for all decisions from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

View Court Decisions
Displaying 1 - 10 of 4230

Leopold v. Fed. Hous. Fin. Agency, No. 23-1935, 2026 WL 2676063 (D.D.C. Sept. 11, 2026) (Sooknanan, J.)

Leopold v. Fed. Hous. Fin. Agency, No. 23-1935, 2026 WL 2676063 (D.D.C. Sept. 11, 2026) (Sooknanan, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning oversight of banks

Disposition:  Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment

  • Exemption 8; Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, “Reasonably...

Ryan v. DOJ, No. 23-3815, 2026 WL 2676048 (D.D.C. Sept. 11, 2026) (Sooknanan, J.)

Ryan v. DOJ, No. 23-3815, 2026 WL 2676048 (D.D.C. Sept. 11, 2026) (Sooknanan, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning aircraft crashes and subsequent investigations

Disposition:  Granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part any denying in part defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment

  • Exemption 3:  The court relates that “DOJ invoked Exemption 3 to...

Lenz v. CIA, No. 20-3327, 2026 WL 2676740 (D.D.C. Sept. 11, 2026) (Lamberth, J.)

Lenz v. CIA, No. 20-3327, 2026 WL 2676740 (D.D.C. Sept. 11, 2026) (Lamberth, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning U.S. involvement in raid on businesses in Philippines by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation on March 3, 1962

Disposition:  Granting plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees and costs; awarding plaintiff $56,943 in attorney’s fees and $300 in costs

  • Attorney Fees, Eligibility: ...

Bing Hong v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 25-2906, 2026 WL 2641563 (D.D.C. Sept. 8, 2026) (Walton, J.)

Bing Hong v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 25-2906, 2026 WL 2641563 (D.D.C. Sept. 8, 2026) (Walton, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s child’s passport applications and adjudications

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment

  • Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  “[T]he Court concludes that the defendant’s...

Am. Transparency v. HHS, No. 21-02821, 2026 WL 2620874 (D.D.C. Sept. 4, 2026) (Mehta, J.)

Am. Transparency v. HHS, No. 21-02821, 2026 WL 2620874 (D.D.C. Sept. 4, 2026) (Mehta, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning royalties that NIH paid to its employees

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment

  • Exemption 4; Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, “Reasonably Segregable” Showing:  The court relates that “...

Martinez v. Collins, No. 26-7248, 2026 WL 2606926 (Vet. App. Sept. 3, 2026) (Meredith, J.)

Martinez v. Collins, No. 26-7248, 2026 WL 2606926 (Vet. App. Sept. 3, 2026) (Meredith, J.)

Re: Request for requester’s VA claims file

Disposition:  Dismissing requester’s petition

  • Litigation Considerations, Jurisdiction:  The Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims finds that “although [the requester] seeks an order compelling VA to provide a copy of his C-file and medical records pursuant to his...

LegalForce RAPC Worldwide P.C. v. USPTO, No. 25-09010, 2026 WL 2606993 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 2, 2026) (Pitts, J.)

LegalForce RAPC Worldwide P.C. v. USPTO, No. 25-09010, 2026 WL 2606993 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 2, 2026) (Pitts, J.)

Re: Request for eight types of records regarding relationship between PTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline and HUD

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees and costs

  • Attorney Fees, Eligibility:  The court finds that “[p]laintiffs have not established their eligibility...

Bennett v. Atascadero State Hosp., No. 25-03738, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196410 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2026) (Drozd, J.)

Bennett v. Atascadero State Hosp., No. 25-03738, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196410 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2026) (Drozd, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff

Disposition:  Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendations; dismissing action with prejudice

  • Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA:  The court agrees with the magistrate judge who “concluded that Atascadero State...

Vega v. Gatta, No. 26-1299, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196832 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 31, 2026) (Dudek, J.)

Vega v. Gatta, No. 26-1299, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196832 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 31, 2026) (Dudek, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning 

Disposition:  Dismissing plaintiff’s amended complaint

  • Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA; Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that “[plaintiff] . . . does not assert he made [a FOIA] request of any federal agency.”  “Further, FOIA...

Tyson-Phipps v. Rubio, No. 23-2316, 2026 WL 2564210 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2026) (Gorenstein, Mag. J.)

Tyson-Phipps v. Rubio, No. 23-2316, 2026 WL 2564210 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2026) (Gorenstein, Mag. J.)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend FOIA claim following court’s dismissal of FOIA claim

  • Litigation Considerations, Pleadings:  The court relates that “[d]efendant argues that Count IX, the FOIA claim . . . , is futile because it is...