U.S. Department
of Justice
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.
Karam v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 25-01397, 2025 WL 3079048 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 4, 2025) (Martínez-Olguín, J.)
Karam v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 25-01397, 2025 WL 3079048 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 4, 2025) (Martínez-Olguín, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning “‘unauthorized surveillance and data collection activities conducted by Meta Platforms, Inc. in cooperation with government agencies’”
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss FOIA claim
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The...
Viola v. DOJ, No. 18-2573, 22-2186, 2025 WL 3059805 (3d Cir. Nov 3, 2025) (Phipps J.)
Viola v. DOJ, No. 18-2573, 22-2186, 2025 WL 3059805 (3d Cir. Nov 3, 2025) (Phipps J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning the requester
Disposition: Affirming in part and vacating in part district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: “[Plaintiff] contends that the Task Force is a federal agency because it receives federal...
Stevens v. Dep’t of the Army, No. 25-5144, 2025 WL 3072660 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 3, 2025) (Kennelly, J.)
Stevens v. Dep’t of the Army, No. 25-5144, 2025 WL 3072660 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 3, 2025) (Kennelly, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning Northwestern University’s expansion of its campus into Lake Michigan around 1960s
Disposition: Denying defendant’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of...
Noh v. United States, No. 25-01483, 2025 WL 3062714 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 3, 2025) (King, J.)
Noh v. United States, No. 25-01483, 2025 WL 3062714 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 3, 2025) (King, J.)
Re: Request for certain surveillance records
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration and dismissing plaintiff’s complaint
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that “[i]f [plaintiff] intended to bring a standalone claim under the [FOIA], she has not stated a claim under that...
Williams & Connolly, LLP v. DHS, No. 24-2322, 2025 WL 3039859 (D.D.C. Oct. 31, 2025) (Friedman, J.)
Williams & Connolly, LLP v. DHS, No. 24-2322, 2025 WL 3039859 (D.D.C. Oct. 31, 2025) (Friedman, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning individual that plaintiff alleges testified at trial in exchange for immigration benefits
Disposition: Granting defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing...
Levigne v. Sides, No. 25-1816, 2025 WL 3055178 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 31, 2025) (Evanson, J.)
Levigne v. Sides, No. 25-1816, 2025 WL 3055178 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 31, 2025) (Evanson, J.)
Re: Issue surrounding incident involving plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s FOIA claim
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that “while the complaint contains a single reference to FOIA, it alleges no facts supporting a FOIA claim or indicating that Plaintiff has met FOIA’s...
Conte v. FBI, No. 23-3729, 2025 WL 3037877 (D.D.C. Oct. 30, 2025) (Kelly, J.)
Conte v. FBI, No. 23-3729, 2025 WL 3037877 (D.D.C. Oct. 30, 2025) (Kelly, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning alleged FBI confidential human source
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Declarations & In Camera Inspection: The court finds that, “[f]or the reasons explained in...
Ecological Rts. Found. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 23-05309, 2025 WL 3022853 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2025) (Chesney, J.)
Ecological Rts. Found. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 23-05309, 2025 WL 3022853 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2025) (Chesney, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning certain dams and hydropower facilities
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees and costs; awarding plaintiff $145,863.70 in attorney fees and $792.46 in costs
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion...
New Orleans Navy Hous., LLC v. U.S. Dep’t of Navy, No. 25-363, 2025 WL 2997382 (E.D. La. Oct. 24, 2025) (Africk, J.)
New Orleans Navy Hous., LLC v. U.S. Dep’t of Navy, No. 25-363, 2025 WL 2997382 (E.D. La. Oct. 24, 2025) (Africk, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning Military Housing Privatization Initiative
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege & Attorney-Client Privilege: “[T]he Court holds that the Navy has met its burden of demonstrating...
Levitt v. IRS, No. 25-949, 2025 WL 2987881 (N.D. Ala. Oct. 23, 2025) (Carney Axon, J.)
Levitt v. IRS, No. 25-949, 2025 WL 2987881 (N.D. Ala. Oct. 23, 2025) (Carney Axon, J.)
Re: Request for tax records concerning his client
Disposition: Dismissing action without prejudice
- Litigation Considerations, Standing: The court relates that “[plaintiff] is an attorney, and he represents Potts Mountain Reserve IP, LLC.” “[Plaintiff] filed a FOIA request with the IRS on behalf of Potts Mountain...