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.
Nat’l Parks Conservation Ass’n v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, No. 20-3706, 2024 WL 1344450 (D.D.C. Mar. 29, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Nat’l Parks Conservation Ass’n v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, No. 20-3706, 2024 WL 1344450 (D.D.C. Mar. 29, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning Biscayne National Park
Disposition: Granting plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on FOIA count “to the extent that it has shown eligibility for attorneys’ fees”; denying defendant’s motion for summary judgment on FOIA count...
Sowe v. Navy Fed. Credit Union, No. 23-3281, 2024 WL 1346878 (D. Md. Mar. 29, 2024) (Gallagher, J.)
Sowe v. Navy Fed. Credit Union, No. 23-3281, 2024 WL 1346878 (D. Md. Mar. 29, 2024) (Gallagher, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s checking account
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court holds that “federal credit unions do not constitute ‘agencies’ for purposes of the . . . [FOIA].” “FOIA...
Staszak v. DOJ, No. 22-3267, 2024 WL 1328460 (D.D.C. Mar. 28, 2024) (Berman Jackson, J.)
Staszak v. DOJ, No. 22-3267, 2024 WL 1328460 (D.D.C. Mar. 28, 2024) (Berman Jackson, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s son’s criminal conviction
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court holds that “it is clear from the record that plaintiff failed to comply with both the...
Clay v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 17-777, 2024 WL 1328326 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 28, 2024) (Morales Howard, J.)
Clay v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 17-777, 2024 WL 1328326 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 28, 2024) (Morales Howard, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion to dismiss, or, in the alternative, motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal: The court holds that “[plaintiff’s]...
Gebert v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 22-2939, 2024 WL 1328439 (D.D.C. Mar. 27, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Gebert v. U.S. Dep’t of State, No. 22-2939, 2024 WL 1328439 (D.D.C. Mar. 27, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s FOIA claim
- Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests: “[T]he Court will dismiss [plaintiff’s] FOIA . . . claim[].” “[Plaintiff] requested ‘all records pertaining to’ him ‘that [were] held by the U.S...
Groenendal v. EOUSA, No. 20-1030, 2024 WL 1299333 (D.D.C. Mar. 27, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Groenendal v. EOUSA, No. 20-1030, 2024 WL 1299333 (D.D.C. Mar. 27, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning plaintiff’s criminal case
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motions for summary judgment, discovery, and in camera inspection
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: “The Court concludes that EOUSA and...
James Madison Project v. Off. of the Dir. of Nat’l Intel., No. 22-00674, 2024 WL 1299336 (D.D.C. Mar. 26, 2024) (McFadden, J.)
James Madison Project v. Off. of the Dir. of Nat’l Intel., No. 22-00674, 2024 WL 1299336 (D.D.C. Mar. 26, 2024) (McFadden, J.)
Re: Request for copy of report on Havana Syndrome
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 1: “[T]he Court will grant summary judgment to the Government on its exemption 1 withholdings.” The court relates that “Plaintiffs...
Zaid v. DOJ, No. 23-1821, 2024 WL 1243017 (4th Cir. Mar. 25, 2024) (Wilkinson, J.)
Zaid v. DOJ, No. 23-1821, 2024 WL 1243017 (4th Cir. Mar. 25, 2024) (Wilkinson, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning requester’s client
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 7(A): The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit holds that, “[f]ar from invoking a ‘blanket exemption’ for all records in [the requester’s client’s]...
Christensen, Jr. v. Nat’l Ctr. for Missing & Exploited Child., No. 23-97, 2024 WL 1242495 (W.D. Okla. Mar. 22, 2024) (DeGiusti, J.)
Christensen, Jr. v. Nat’l Ctr. for Missing & Exploited Child., No. 23-97, 2024 WL 1242495 (W.D. Okla. Mar. 22, 2024) (DeGiusti, J.)
Re: Request for certain images involved in plaintiff’s criminal case
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: “[T]he Court...
Phillips v. DHS, No. 19-0928, 2024 WL 1239704 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2024) (Nichols, J.)
Phillips v. DHS, No. 19-0928, 2024 WL 1239704 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2024) (Nichols, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning treatment of alien minors in government detention facilities
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, “Reasonably Segregable” Obligation: The court relates that “[t]he only remaining issue in this FOIA case is whether the...