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.
Parra v. United States, No. 25-431, 2025 WL 1792979 (Fed. Cl. June 27, 2025) (Roumel, J.)
Parra v. United States, No. 25-431, 2025 WL 1792979 (Fed. Cl. June 27, 2025) (Roumel, J.)
Re: Request for certain surveillance footage and security reports
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Jurisdiction: The court holds that it does not have jurisdiction because “FOIA . . . is not a money-mandating source of law.”
S. Env’t L. Ctr. v. TVA, No. 24-95, 2025 WL 1791128 (E.D. Tenn. June 27, 2025) (Crytzer, J.)
S. Env’t L. Ctr. v. TVA, No. 24-95, 2025 WL 1791128 (E.D. Tenn. June 27, 2025) (Crytzer, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning agency’s study of various programs for influencing regional electric load, including energy efficiency, demand response, and electrification
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss in part
Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court relates that “[i]n its...
Project on Gov’t Oversight v. DHS, No. 22-2424, 2025 WL 1897819 (D.D.C. June 26, 2025) (Berman Jackson, J.)
Project on Gov’t Oversight v. DHS, No. 22-2424, 2025 WL 1897819 (D.D.C. June 26, 2025) (Berman Jackson, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning DHS OIG’s “alleged removal of damaging information from a draft report”
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s request for a FOIA processing order; denying plaintiff’s request for discovery
- Litigation Considerations, Discovery: The...
Jones v. VA, No. 125-135, 2025 WL 1748068 (S.D. Ga. June 24, 2025) (Epps, Mag. J.)
Jones v. VA, No. 125-135, 2025 WL 1748068 (S.D. Ga. June 24, 2025) (Epps, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for results of plaintiff’s Compensation and Pension examination
Disposition: Requiring process to be issued to defendant after screening
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: “Liberally construing Plaintiff’s allegations in his favor and granting him the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be derived...
Levitt v. IRS, No. 24-00284, 2025 WL 1745758 (N.A. Ala. June 24, 2025) (Cornelius, Mag. J.)
Levitt v. IRS, No. 24-00284, 2025 WL 1745758 (N.A. Ala. June 24, 2025) (Cornelius, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for audit records concerning requester
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: The court relates that, “[h]ere, the declaration provided by the agency representative satisfies the agency’s initial burden to show beyond a...
Off. of Fed. Pub. Def. v. DOJ, No. 23-02476, 2025 WL 1734803 (D.D.C. June 23, 2025) (Ali, J.)
Off. of Fed. Pub. Def. v. DOJ, No. 23-02476, 2025 WL 1734803 (D.D.C. June 23, 2025) (Ali, J.)
Re: Request for five categories of records, including information about defendants’ security presence at plaintiff’s client’s trial and his transportation to the courthouse each day
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in...
Mora v. CBP, No. 24-3136, 2025 WL 1713252 (D.D.C. June 18, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Mora v. CBP, No. 24-3136, 2025 WL 1713252 (D.D.C. June 18, 2025) (Howell, J.)
Re: Plaintiffs’ allegation that defendants DHS and CBP had “violated the FOIA through ‘a nationwide pattern or practice of failing to make determinations regarding FOIA requests for an individual’s records within the statutory period’”
Disposition: Granting plaintiffs’ motion to reconsider dismissal of FOIA claim...
MSW Media, Inc. v. U.S. DOGE Serv., No. 25-02881, 2025 WL 1707290 (N.D. Cal. June 18, 2025) (Martínez-Olguín, J.)
MSW Media, Inc. v. U.S. DOGE Serv., No. 25-02881, 2025 WL 1707290 (N.D. Cal. June 18, 2025) (Martínez-Olguín, J.)
Re: Request for all DOGE emails from February 7, 2025 through February 10, 2025
Disposition: Transferring case to District Court for the District of Columbia
- Litigation Considerations, Venue: The court finds that “[u]nder 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B), venue for this action as pleaded is...
Walsh v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 23-04164, 2025 WL 1676580 (D.S.D. June 13, 2025) (Schulte, J.)
Walsh v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 23-04164, 2025 WL 1676580 (D.S.D. June 13, 2025) (Schulte, J.)
Re: Request for disciplinary records for two now-retired military generals
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: The court relates that “Defendants furnished affidavits...
Parra v. Jud. Conf. of the U.S., No. 25-01346, 2025 WL 1707688 (D.D.C. June 13, 2025) (Mehta, J.)
Parra v. Jud. Conf. of the U.S., No. 25-01346, 2025 WL 1707688 (D.D.C. June 13, 2025) (Mehta, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s FOIA requests
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s case
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court relates that “[t]his matter was filed on April 29, 2025.” “Upon review, on May 9, 2025, the court issued an order . . . finding that plaintiff’s pro se complaint was difficult to...