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.
Heritage Found. v. DHS, No. 23-01198, 2024 WL 4263929 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Nichols, J.)
Heritage Found. v. DHS, No. 23-01198, 2024 WL 4263929 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Nichols, J.)
Re: Request for certain immigration records concerning the Duke of Sussex
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 6; Exemption 7(C): “[T]he Court grants the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.” Regarding the...
Brook v. Holzerland, No. 23-00379, 2024 WL 4274872 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 23, 2024) (Crone, J.)
Brook v. Holzerland, No. 23-00379, 2024 WL 4274872 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 23, 2024) (Crone, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s termination from employment as a surgeon
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Statute of Limitations: The court holds that “[plaintiff’s] FOIA claims accrued without...
Donoghue v. NARA, No. 23-00157, 2024 WL 4263830 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Chutkan, J.)
Donoghue v. NARA, No. 23-00157, 2024 WL 4263830 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Chutkan, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning incident involving supply vessel on which plaintiff was a merchant seaman
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: “[Plaintiff] does not, in earnest...
Wright v. FBI, No. 18-687, 2024 WL 4263867 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Chutkan, J.)
Wright v. FBI, No. 18-687, 2024 WL 4263867 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Chutkan, J.)
Re: Request for fifteen categories of records
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records: The court relates that “[it] granted Defendant’s prior motion for summary judgment in every respect but one: ‘the adequacy of Defendant’s search for...
First Look Media Works, Inc. v. U.S. Agency for Global Media, No. 20-3499, 2024 WL 4262773 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Kelly, J.)
First Look Media Works, Inc. v. U.S. Agency for Global Media, No. 20-3499, 2024 WL 4262773 (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2024) (Kelly, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning U.S. Agency for Global Media (“USAGM”) policies surrounding visas and foreign employees, as well as certain communications concerning a variety of topics
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; denying...
Arevalo v. DEA, No. 21-60102, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171172 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 20, 2024) (Smith, J.)
Arevalo v. DEA, No. 21-60102, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171172 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 20, 2024) (Smith, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Granting defendants’ renewed motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: The court finds that “DEA’s search was adequate.” “In its prior Order Denying Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court found that the search...
Conley v. ICE, No. 23-128, 2024 WL 4254330 (E.D. Tenn. Sept. 20, 2024) (Varlan, J.)
Conley v. ICE, No. 23-128, 2024 WL 4254330 (E.D. Tenn. Sept. 20, 2024) (Varlan, J.)
Re: Request for certain documents and communications between ICE and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: The court holds that “Defendant’s declaration...
Documented v. DHS, No. 21-3142, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169893 (D.D.C. Sept. 20, 2024) (Lamberth, J.)
Documented v. DHS, No. 21-3142, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169893 (D.D.C. Sept. 20, 2024) (Lamberth, J.)
Re: Request for all of Secretary of Homeland Security’s “Decision Papers” dating back to January 1, 2017
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations...
Grand Marina Invs., LLC v. IRS, No. 23-1676, 2024 WL 4253095 (D.D.C. Sept. 20, 2024) (Lamberth, J.)
Grand Marina Invs., LLC v. IRS, No. 23-1676, 2024 WL 4253095 (D.D.C. Sept. 20, 2024) (Lamberth, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning 2014 federal income tax return
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion to dismiss one defendant; granting in part and denying in part remainder of defendants’ motion to dismiss; denying plaintiff’s motion to propound discovery
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: ...
Pinnaka v. United States, No. 24-86, 2024 WL 4252776 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 20, 2024) (Joseph, Mag. J.)
Pinnaka v. United States, No. 24-86, 2024 WL 4252776 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 20, 2024) (Joseph, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s immigration requests and inadmissibility determination
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for leave to file an answer to plaintiff’s FOIA claims
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court notes that “[g]enerally, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12...