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.
Am. Wild Horse Campaign v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., No. 22-2971, 22-3027, 2025 WL 1148361 (D.D.C. Apr. 17, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Am. Wild Horse Campaign v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., No. 22-2971, 22-3027, 2025 WL 1148361 (D.D.C. Apr. 17, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning certain grazing allotments and authorizations
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Searching for...
Williamson v. Pringle, No. 24-069, 2025 WL 1135824 (D.N.D. Apr. 17, 2025) (Hochhalter, Mag. J.)
Williamson v. Pringle, No. 24-069, 2025 WL 1135824 (D.N.D. Apr. 17, 2025) (Hochhalter, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for production of records
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court relates that “Plaintiff . . . invokes the [FOIA].” The court finds that “‘FOIA applies only to records of federal agencies and...
Frison Jr. v. Dep’t of the Army, No. 25-04016, 2025 WL 1141870 (C.D. Ill. Apr. 16, 2025) (Darrow, C.J.)
Frison Jr. v. Dep’t of the Army, No. 25-04016, 2025 WL 1141870 (C.D. Ill. Apr. 16, 2025) (Darrow, C.J.)
Re: Request for certain records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s FOIA claim
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that “the claim[] related to FOIA requests . . . [is] . . . unexplained, such that the Court cannot discern when those requests were made...
Outside Legal Couns. PLC v. TSA, No. 23-10553, 2025 WL 1088807 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 11, 2025) (Parker, J.)
Outside Legal Couns. PLC v. TSA, No. 23-10553, 2025 WL 1088807 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 11, 2025) (Parker, J.)
Re: Request for six categories of records concerning firearms seized at United States airports
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for costs
- Attorney Fees: The court relates that “[a]lthough recognizing that an award of attorney’s fees [to a pro se attorney plaintiff] is precluded by the Sixth...
Democracy Forward Found. v. OMB, No. 25-858, 2025 WL 1078778 (D.D.C. Apr. 9, 2025) (Sooknanan, J.)
Democracy Forward Found. v. OMB, No. 25-858, 2025 WL 1078778 (D.D.C. Apr. 9, 2025) (Sooknanan, J.)
Re: Request for plans for reductions in force across the federal government pursuant to Exec. Order No. 14210
Disposition: Denying defendant’s motion to dismiss; denying plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court relates...
Greenspan v. EOUSA, No. 23-1816, 2025 WL 1040834 (D.D.C. Apr. 8, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Greenspan v. EOUSA, No. 23-1816, 2025 WL 1040834 (D.D.C. Apr. 8, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning two individuals
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 6; Exemption 7(C): Regarding the DEA’s response, the court finds that “DEA’s Glomar...
Choong v. CBP, No. 24-02173, 2025 WL 1043072 (D. Nev. Apr. 7, 2025) (Koppe, Mag. J.)
Choong v. CBP, No. 24-02173, 2025 WL 1043072 (D. Nev. Apr. 7, 2025) (Koppe, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Finding that plaintiff states a claim under FOIA
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that “Plaintiff’s allegations in the amended complaint state[] a claim under FOIA.” “Plaintiff asserts a claim against the United States Customs and...
Sanders v. FBI, No. 23-589, 2025 WL 1019955 (W.D. Wis. Apr. 4, 2025) (Peterson, J.)
Sanders v. FBI, No. 23-589, 2025 WL 1019955 (W.D. Wis. Apr. 4, 2025) (Peterson, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: The court relates that “[i]n this case, the FBI submitted the declaration of . . . the FBI employee who...
Am. Oversight v. U.S. Dep’t of Gov’t Efficiency, No. 25-00409, 2025 WL 993518 (D.D.C. Apr. 2, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Am. Oversight v. U.S. Dep’t of Gov’t Efficiency, No. 25-00409, 2025 WL 993518 (D.D.C. Apr. 2, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s request that the court issue a preservation order requiring defendants “(1) ‘to preserve all records responsive’ to all eight of the requests, pursuant to the [FOIA] for records at issue in this case, and (2) ‘disclose whether all such records have been preserved to date...
Am. Oversight v. U.S. Dep’t of Gov’t Efficiency, No. 25-00409, 2025 WL 985101 (D.D.C. Apr. 2, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Am. Oversight v. U.S. Dep’t of Gov’t Efficiency, No. 25-00409, 2025 WL 985101 (D.D.C. Apr. 2, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s request that the court issue a preservation order requiring defendants “(1) ‘to preserve all records responsive’ to all eight of the requests, pursuant to the [FOIA] for records at issue in this case, and (2) ‘disclose whether all such records have been preserved to date’...