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. Prop. Locators, Inc. v. CBP, No. 24-00379, 2025 WL 885106 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Chutkan, J.)
Am. Prop. Locators, Inc. v. CBP, No. 24-00379, 2025 WL 885106 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Chutkan, J.)
Re: Request for certain stale check and payee information
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Fees and Fee Waivers, Fees, Exemption 4: The court relates that “Plaintiff . . . challenges CBP’s decision to apply the business submitter process, resulting in a higher fee [due to...
Citizens for Resp. & Ethics in Wash. v. DOJ, No. 24-1497, 2025 WL 879664 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Alikhan, J.)
Citizens for Resp. & Ethics in Wash. v. DOJ, No. 24-1497, 2025 WL 879664 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Alikhan, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning now-closed criminal investigation of former Congressman Matt Gaetz
Disposition: Granting in part defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings & “Policy or Practice” Claims: The court relates that “Count II alleges that DOJ and its...
Ctr. for Med. Progress v. HHS, No. 21-641, 2025 WL 885214 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Walton, J.)
Ctr. for Med. Progress v. HHS, No. 21-641, 2025 WL 885214 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Walton, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning certain grant applications
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: The court relates that “defendant argues that ‘[u]pon receipt of the [plaintiff’s...
Wiggins v. DOJ, No. 20-3565, 2025 WL 885097 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Reyes, J.)
Wiggins v. DOJ, No. 20-3565, 2025 WL 885097 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Reyes, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s prosecution
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: “Based on the declaration EOUSA has submitted, the Court finds that its search was ‘reasonably calculated to uncover all...
Cahill v. U.S. Dep’t of Commerce, No. 24-1351, 2025 WL 885207 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Alikhan, J.)
Cahill v. U.S. Dep’t of Commerce, No. 24-1351, 2025 WL 885207 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Alikhan, J.)
Re: Request for audio recording of Patent Trial and Appeals Board oral argument for plaintiff’s patent case
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss; denying plaintiff’s motion for fees
- Attorney Fees: The court relates that “[t]he Department argues that [plaintiff] has admitted that his case...
Jackson v. IRS, No. 24-00667, 2025 WL 890154 (N.D. Ala. Mar. 21, 2025) (Cornelius, Mag. J.)
Jackson v. IRS, No. 24-00667, 2025 WL 890154 (N.D. Ala. Mar. 21, 2025) (Cornelius, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning certain Form 1065
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss without prejudice
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court relates that, “[h]ere, the IRS failed to comply with the deadlines set forth in the statute.” “While the...
Rudometkin v. Wormuth, No. 22-1968, 2025 WL 885098 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Chutkan, J.)
Rudometkin v. Wormuth, No. 22-1968, 2025 WL 885098 (D.D.C. Mar. 21, 2025) (Chutkan, J.)
Re: Requests for certain military service records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that “[a]lthough Plaintiff brings this action against [an individual defendant] in her official capacity as...
Rhodes v. IRS, No. 24-00662, 2025 WL 890155 (N.D. Ala. Mar. 21, 2025) (Cornelius, Mag. J.)
Rhodes v. IRS, No. 24-00662, 2025 WL 890155 (N.D. Ala. Mar. 21, 2025) (Cornelius, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning certain Form 1065 for tax year 2016
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court finds that, “[h]ere, the IRS failed to comply with the deadlines set forth in the statute.” “While the...
Crandell, III v. NARA, No. 23-1957, 2025 WL 869495 (4th Cir. Mar. 20, 2025) (per curiam)
Crandell, III v. NARA, No. 23-1957, 2025 WL 869495 (4th Cir. Mar. 20, 2025) (per curiam)
Re: Requests for certain court records
Disposition: Affirming district court’s acceptance of magistrate judge’s grant of government’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit relates that “[t]he district court dismissed [the...
Borowski v. CBP, No. 23-00257, 2025 WL 889716 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2025) (Wolford, J.)
Borowski v. CBP, No. 23-00257, 2025 WL 889716 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2025) (Wolford, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning revocation of plaintiff’s membership in expedited border processing program called NEXUS
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s renewed motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: “With the additional information provided...