Court opinions issued Dec. 3, 2020

Ctr. for Investigative Reporting v. DOJ (9th Cir.) -- in a 2-1 decision, reversing and remanding district court’s decision and holding that a rider to Consolidated Appropriations Acts did not qualify as an Exemption 3 statute; further ruling that ATF had not demonstrated that requested weapons information was incapable of being extracted from its Firearms Tracing System database.

Samuel v. U.S. Dep’t of State (D.S.C.) -- summarily adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation that agency properly refused to confirm or deny existence of “Cuba Condition” records.

Werth v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- on renewed summary judgment, which plaintiff did not oppose, concluding that U.S. Marshals Service performed adequate search for records pertaining to plaintiff’s property and properly redacted names of law enforcement officials pursuant to Exemptions 6 and 7(C).

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinion issued Dec. 2, 2020

Humane Soc’y of the United States v. U.S Fish & Wildlife Serv. (4th Cir.) (unpublished) -- affirming district court’s decision that: (1) plaintiff’s “reading room” claim was moot because agency posted all requested records online; (2) agency was not obligated to post future-generated records on rolling basis; and (3) agency properly indexed its posted records, but even if it hadn’t, plaintiff was not entitled to prospective relief.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinions issued Nov. 30, 2020

Powell v. IRS (D.D.C.) -- denying plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration of interlocutory order in government’s favor regarding plaintiff’s request for his and his family’s tax records, noting that plaintiff failed to meet Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b)’s “as justice requires” standard. In a separate ruling, the court denied plaintiff’s request to supplement plaintiff’s “already-supplemented, thrice-amended Complaint.”

Cole v. Copan (D.D.C.) -- determining that Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology: properly interpreted scope of plaintiff’s request concerning 7 World Trade Center, performed a reasonable search, and properly withheld records pursuang to Exemption 3 in conjunction with 15 U.S.C. § 7301.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinion issued Nov. 27, 2020

Telematch, Inc. v. USDA (D.D.C.) -- determining that agency properly withheld farm numbers and tract numbers pursuant to Exemption 3 in conjunction with 7 U.S.C. § 8791(b)(2), as well as customer numbers pursuant to Exemption 6.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinions issued Nov. 25, 2020

Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dep’t of Commerce (D.D.C.) -- ruling that Commerce properly relied on Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege to withhold communications during the Obama Administration.between a NOAA scientist and the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Judicial Watch v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- determining that DOJ properly redacted FBI interviews of Bruce Ohr pursuant to Exemptions 3, 7(D), and 7(E).

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinions issued Nov. 24, 2020

Nat. Res. Def. Council v. EPA (S.D.N.Y.) -- concluding that EPA failed to show that it properly withheld four documents pursuant to Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege and that it properly disclosed all reasonably segregable, non exempt information from 74 other records.

Lawyers’ Comm. for Civil Rights v. OMB (D.D.C.) -- ordering additional round of summary judgment briefing because neither party addressed whether agency’s withholdings under Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege met foreseeable harm standard.

WP Co. v. SBA (D.D.C.) -- denying government’s request for stay of court’s disclosure order regarding “the names, addresses, and precise loan amounts” for certain loan borrowers following the pandemic outbreak.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinion issued Nov. 23, 2020

Contreras v. DOJ (D. Minn.) -- denying award of attorney’s fees after finding plaintiff failed to show that its lawsuit was “reasonably necessary” or “substantially caused” agency’s disclosure of requested records.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinions issued Nov. 19-20, 2020

Nov. 20, 2020

W. Res. Legal Ctr. v. NOAA (D. Or.) -- concluding that: (1) plaintiff was not required to administratively appeal from any of agency’s six interim responses or from agency’s final determination issued after plaintiff filed suit; (2) agency did not perform adequate search for records underlying technical guidance pertaining to marine mammals; and (3) agency’s Vaughn Index was insufficient to justify documents withheld in full, but sufficient with respect to redacted documents.

Immerso v. DOL (E.D.N.Y.) -- determining that email provided by company’s outside to counsel to agency’s Administrative Law Judge in connection with workers compensation proceeding was protected as privileged under Exemption 4, consistent with decisions of other courts regarding same email.

Nov. 19. 2020

Nat'l Parks Conservation Ass'n v. U.S. Dep't of Navy (W.D. Wash) -- finding that: (1) agency performed adequate search for records concerning training exercises on or above Olympic National Park, Olympic National Forest, and Olympic Peninsula; (2) agency properly withheld records pursuant to Exemption 5’s attorney-client, attorney work-product, and deliberative process privileges; (3) agency’s withholdings under Exemption 3, in conjunction with 10 U.S.C. § 130e, could not be upheld absent written determination from Secretary of Defense; and (4) agency properly relied on Exemption 6 to withhold identities of records custodians and junior-ranking Navy personnel, but could withhold name of three project managers and needed to provide additional information about Navy personnel and contractors who developed certain environmental records.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinion issued Nov. 18, 2020

Junk v. Bd. of Governors of Fed. Reserve Sys. (S.D.N.Y) -- on remand from Second Circuit, ruling that agency performed adequate search for particular CUSIP number allegedly associated with Maiden Lane LLCs created during 2008 financial crisis.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

Court opinion issued Nov. 12, 2020

Am. Civil Liberties Union v. Dep’t of Def. (S.D.N.Y.) - on renewed summary judgment, and following in camera review ordered earlier this year, ruling that defendant agencies properly withheld certain military orders; there was no official acknowledgment because the records at issue were “clearly more specific than any information previously disclosed by the Government.”

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.