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.
Hettena v. CIA, No. 24-5119, 2025 WL 2172528 (D.C. Cir. July 31, 2025) (Garcia, J.)
Hettena v. CIA, No. 24-5119, 2025 WL 2172528 (D.C. Cir. July 31, 2025) (Garcia, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning CIA Inspector General’s November 2005 report following investigation of death of Iraqi national while in CIA custody
Disposition: Vacating district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment; remanding case
- Exemption 1: “[The Court of Appeals for the District of...
Wright v. HHS, No. 22-1378, 2025 WL 2171090 (D.D.C. July 31, 2025) (Contreras, J.)
Wright v. HHS, No. 22-1378, 2025 WL 2171090 (D.D.C. July 31, 2025) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning COVID-19 vaccine safety studies
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to extend stay; denying plaintiff’s motion
- Litigation Considerations, “Open America” Stays of Proceedings: “The Court will . . . grant HHS’s motion to extend stay.” “HHS argues that the FDA is entitled to...
Soto-Elliott v. Nebraska, No. 24-290, 2025 WL 2171851 (D. Neb. July 31, 2025) (Bazis, J.)
Soto-Elliott v. Nebraska, No. 24-290, 2025 WL 2171851 (D. Neb. July 31, 2025) (Bazis, J.)
Re: Plaintiff’s allegation that defendant “denied her numerous ‘verbal phone and email FOIA requests’”
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s case
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court holds that “FOIA . . . only applies to federal agencies and, thus, has no application to any of the...
Ctr. for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, No. 24-880, 2025 WL 2155687 (9th Cir. July 30, 2025) (Johnstone, J.)
Ctr. for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, No. 24-880, 2025 WL 2155687 (9th Cir. July 30, 2025) (Johnstone, J.)
Re: Requests for all EEO-1 reports submitted by all federal contractors from 2016 through 2020
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of requester’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 4: The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that, “[t]hough our reasoning...
Cury v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 23-0499, 2025 WL 2145378 (W.D. Wash. July 29, 2025) (Robart, J.)
Cury v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 23-0499, 2025 WL 2145378 (W.D. Wash. July 29, 2025) (Robart, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning revocation of plaintiff’s visa
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 3: “The court agrees with State that the withholding of visa revocation documents is justified by Exemption 3...
Webster v. FBI, No. 24-387, 2025 WL 2144099 (D.D.C. July 29, 2025) (Cooper, J.)
Webster v. FBI, No. 24-387, 2025 WL 2144099 (D.D.C. July 29, 2025) (Cooper, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning investigation of police officer plaintiff assaulted
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 6; Exemption 7(C): The court holds that “Exemptions 6 and 7(C) both apply.” “As a threshold matter, the requested information undeniably falls under the...
Roland v. DOJ, No. 24-09617, 2025 WL 2108733 (N.D. Ill. July 28, 2025) (Perry, J.)
Roland v. DOJ, No. 24-09617, 2025 WL 2108733 (N.D. Ill. July 28, 2025) (Perry, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal: The court relates that “Plaintiff alleges that the FBI took 102 days to respond, and CRM took 112 days to respond to his FOIA request.” “That said, Plaintiff...
Farm Labor Organizing Comm. v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, No. 20-645, 2025 WL 2105566 (D.D.C. July 28, 2025) (Cobb, J.)
Farm Labor Organizing Comm. v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, No. 20-645, 2025 WL 2105566 (D.D.C. July 28, 2025) (Cobb, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning certain farmers’ sale of tobacco
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 4: “The Court understands DOL to be...
Project for Priv. & Surveillance Accountability, Inc. v. DOJ, No. 22-5303, 2025 WL 2013623 (D.C. Cir. July 18, 2025) (Millett, J.)
Project for Priv. & Surveillance Accountability, Inc. v. DOJ, No. 22-5303, 2025 WL 2013623 (D.C. Cir. July 18, 2025) (Millett, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning upstreaming and unmasking of forty-eight named current and former members of congressional intelligence committees, from January 1, 2008, to January 15, 2020
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for...
Fouts v. EOUSA, No. 25-5295, 2025 WL 2017451 (S.D.N.Y. July 18, 2025) (Taylor Swain, J.)
Fouts v. EOUSA, No. 25-5295, 2025 WL 2017451 (S.D.N.Y. July 18, 2025) (Taylor Swain, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning plaintiff and plaintiff’s son
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration
- Litigation Considerations, Venue: The court holds that “Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that the Court overlooked any controlling law or factual matters when it exercised its...