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.
New C.L. All. v. SEC, No. 22-03567, 2025 WL 2494683 (D.D.C. Aug. 29, 2025) (Nichols, J.)
New C.L. All. v. SEC, No. 22-03567, 2025 WL 2494683 (D.D.C. Aug. 29, 2025) (Nichols, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning “‘control deficiency’” that allowed enforcement personnel to access adjudicative materials
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 5, “Inter-Agency or Intra-Agency” Threshold Requirement: The court relates that “the Commission had tasked outside...
Johnson v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 25-430, 2025 WL 2496046 (N.D. Okla. Aug. 29, 2025) (Russell, J.)
Johnson v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 25-430, 2025 WL 2496046 (N.D. Okla. Aug. 29, 2025) (Russell, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s claim that defendant failed to return certain documents to him
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings & Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court relates that, “[i]n his complaint, [plaintiff] claims that he asked Defendants to...
Schubert v. BOP, No. 23-3509, 2025 WL 2480076 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2025) (Cooper, J.)
Schubert v. BOP, No. 23-3509, 2025 WL 2480076 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2025) (Cooper, J.)
Re: Request for records, including grievance and investigatory records, concerning two individuals that plaintiff suggests are employees
Disposition: Granting defendant’s partial motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations...
Informed Consent Action Network v. FDA, No. 25-0827, 2025 WL 2480080 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2025) (Cobb, J.)
Informed Consent Action Network v. FDA, No. 25-0827, 2025 WL 2480080 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2025) (Cobb, J.)
Re: Request for records maintained by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (“CBER”)
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to stay; staying case for approximately six months
- Litigation Considerations, “Open America” Stays of Proceedings: The court finds that “[b]ecause the FDA has...
James Madison Project v. CIA, No. 22-00321, 2025 WL 2465941 (D.D.C. Aug. 27, 2025) (Nichols, J.)
James Madison Project v. CIA, No. 22-00321, 2025 WL 2465941 (D.D.C. Aug. 27, 2025) (Nichols, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning Havana syndrome
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 1; Exemption 3: The court relates that Part 1 of plaintiff’s request “sought a copy of the CIA’s purported January 19, 2022 ‘assessment’ of the causes of [the “‘anomalous health...
Zavadovsky v. Rabl, No 24-1997, 2025 WL 2466024 (D.D.C. Aug. 27, 2025) (Contreras, J.)
Zavadovsky v. Rabl, No 24-1997, 2025 WL 2466024 (D.D.C. Aug. 27, 2025) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning [United States Secret Service’s (“USSS”)] investigation of Plaintiffs’ alleged insurance fraud
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court holds that “FOIA does not grant jurisdiction over individuals, even when the...
Bolin v. NARA, No. 25-00043, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164286 (D. Nev. Aug. 22, 2025) (Baldwin, Mag. J.)
Bolin v. NARA, No. 25-00043, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164286 (D. Nev. Aug. 22, 2025) (Baldwin, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for declaratory judgment that NARA violated FOIA by failing to proactively disclose records related to assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Disposition: Dismissing case as moot
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal: The court relates that “shortly...
Cavanagh v. Nev. State Militia, No. 24-00196, 2025 WL 2433095 (D. Nev. Aug. 21, 2025) (Traum, J.)
Cavanagh v. Nev. State Militia, No. 24-00196, 2025 WL 2433095 (D. Nev. Aug. 21, 2025) (Traum, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s daughter
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion to dismiss; staying proceeding pending plaintiff’s exhaustion of administrative remedies
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court finds that “[defendant’s] final response...
Duda v. DOJ, No. 24-1048, 2025 WL 2418404 (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2025) (Alikhan, J.)
Duda v. DOJ, No. 24-1048, 2025 WL 2418404 (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2025) (Alikhan, J.)
Re: Request for audio recordings related to investigation of Emmett Till’s murder
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment
- Exemption 7(D): “Given the parties’ competing assertions...
Perry v. Cox Commc’ns, No. 23-121, 23-122, 23-125, 2025 WL 2409761 (D. Neb. Aug. 20, 2025) (Carson, Mag. J.)
Perry v. Cox Commc’ns, No. 23-121, 23-122, 23-125, 2025 WL 2409761 (D. Neb. Aug. 20, 2025) (Carson, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for injunctive relief and/or writ of mandamus
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies & Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal: The court finds that “Plaintiff . . . has...