Am. Ctr. for Law and Justice v. Dep't of State, No. 16-2516, 2017 WL 2483758 (D.D.C. June 8, 2017) (Boasberg, J.)

Am. Ctr. for Law and Justice v. Dep't of State, No. 16-2516, 2017 WL 2483758 (D.D.C. June 8, 2017) (Boasberg, J.)

Re:  Granting plaintiff's motion for leave to file amended complaint

Disposition:  Request for records concerning funding of organization that opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during that country's 2015 elections

• Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court holds that "[plaintiff] no longer gestures at some nebulous policy or practice."  "Given that the Amended Complaint articulates the objected-to agency behavior (forcing requestors to sue) with sufficient detail to tie its story together, State's [objections to] the Amended Complaint are not presently enough to bat the pleading away."  The court explains that "the central theory is that, to skirt its FOIA duties wholesale, State forces requestors to file suit to obtain timely information."  "According to [plaintiff], . . . the Department implements this policy or practice by letting its mainline FOIA operations wither through its understaffing, undertraining, and failing to supervise or instruct employees."  "There's a small catch."  "Because such internal neglect would backfire quickly if each requestor then sued at the twenty-day mark, to dissuade dogged litigators, State sends out receipt letters that ensure some modicum of FOIA compliance."  The court notes that, "[i]n permitting [the Complaint] to proceed, however, the Court acknowledges the relatively lenient standard complaints must meet to survive a motion to dismiss."