Court Decisions

Sebastian Brown, III v. FBI, No. 21-01639, 2023 WL 5333210 (D.D.C. Aug. 18, 2023) (Walton, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning incident which occurred on December 2, 2015 at Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, CA

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search & Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records:  “...

Phillips v. Phillips, No. 23-832, 2023 WL 5336862 (N.D. Ohio Aug. 18, 2023) (Meehan Brennan, J.)

Re:  Plaintiff’s request that the court “‘follow the law of the [Freedom of Information Act], to ‘hand over [his] estate’”

Disposition:  Dismissing case

• Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA:  The court holds that “[plaintiff] fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted...

Smartflash, LLC v. U.S. Pat. & Trademark Office, No. 22-1123, 2023 WL 5289287 (D.D.C. Aug. 17, 2023) (Howell, J.)

Re:  Request for expansion of judicial panels of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) for certain USPTO proceedings

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Standing:  The court...

Scott v. DHS, No. 22-03037, 2023 WL 5310101 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 17, 2023) (Graham, J.)

Re:  Plaintiff’s complaint stating that “he needs ‘to see’ an unredacted ‘record of homeland security spending’”

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss

• Litigation Considerations, Pleadings:  The court relates that “[t]here is no allegation that [plaintiff] made a records request to the defendant...

Starnes, II v. United States, No. 23-1091, 2023 WL 5217707 (Fed. Cl. Aug. 15, 2023) (Kaplan, C.J.)

Re:  Plaintiff’s claim that defendant “placed an implant in his brain that has given him the powers of telepathy”

Disposition:  Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint

• Litigation Considerations, Jurisdiction:  The court relates that “[plaintiff] cites only one law in his complaint – the Freedom of...

Magassa v. FBI, No. 19-01952, 2023 WL 5174335 (D.D.C. Aug. 11, 2023) (Cobb, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning plaintiff

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search & Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records:  First, the court holds that “the FBI’s...

Gibson v. Warden, No. 22-173, 2023 WL 5121372 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 10, 2023) (Merz, Mag. J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning plaintiff

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff’s motion to compel

• Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA:  The court relates that “[t]he Motion and attachments show that . . . Petitioner made a written demand to [defendant] for this material ‘pursuant to the Pub...

Buzzfeed, Inc. v. DHS, No. 19-03062, 2023 WL 5133158 (D.D.C. Aug. 10, 2023) (Friedrich, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning alert on overcrowding and prolonged detention of adults and children in Rio Grande Valley

Disposition:  Granting in part and denying in part defendants’ renewed motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 6 & Exemption...

Hawkinson v. EOIR, No. 21-11817, 2023 WL 5153768 (D. Mass. Aug. 10, 2023) (Kelley, Mag. J.)

Re:  Request for certain Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decisions

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search & Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records:  The court holds that “defendant has complied with its...

N.Y. Times Co. v. FBI, No. 22-3590, 2023 WL 5098071 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 9, 2023) (Oetken, J.)

Re:  Request for copy of report from FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (“BAU”) on the phenomenon known as “Havana Syndrome”

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; denying defendant’s motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 7, Threshold:  The court holds that, “[a]s a threshold matter...