lawsuit – Page 2 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Academic freedom of faculty at stake in Koch-related records requests

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A legal dispute involving a former Koch Industries employee has led a prominent academic freedom group to contradict its previous advocacy for the privacy of “scholarly communications.”

A student group at the University of Kansas, Students for a Sustainable Future, filed a state open records request last April for documents pertaining to the hiring of several faculty members within the university’s business school.

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Bid for Records Under FOIA’s Crime-Fraud Exception Fails

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A crime fraud exception to the federal open records law does not apply to emails sought by immigration lawyers who say government lawyers repeatedly deceived the courts about the ability of removed immigrants to return to the United States once they win a second chance in immigration court, a judge has ruled.

Southern District Judge Jed Rakoff (See Profile) denied the summary judgment motion of a coalition led by the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild for 27 documents under the Freedom of Information Act, (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. §552.

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FOIA appeal filed by Downtown Publications

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Downtown Publications is appealing the denial of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made to Bloomfield Township on September 14, 2014, requesting information relative to the pension obligation bond issue investments, including a copy of a Miller Canfield review of the investments done this past spring or summer, and any and all reports generated by firms subcontracted by the law firm, which the township's legal counsel in October denied as exempt under "attorney client privilege."

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Federal court judge rules against ports in suit over open meetings

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Even as an Olympia open meetings advocate posted a win in federal court, the ports of Tacoma and Seattle once again will meet behind closed doors Wednesday (Dec. 3) to discuss their proposed operating alliance.

U.S. District Judge James L. Robart ruled late last week that federal court was the wrong forum in which to decide whether the two port commissions violated the state’s Open Meetings Act. At issue are a series of private meetings the two port commissions held jointly to discuss a possible alliance.

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Robbins Geller FOIA Suit Puts Pressure On Wal-Mart

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Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP's bid for documents from the government's probe into alleged foreign bribery by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will likely be trumped by a powerful exemption to the Freedom of Information Act, but experts say the suit ramps up pressure on the retailer to be more transparent with shareholders.

The firm accused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a lawsuit of violating FOIA by withholding documents Wal-Mart gave the commission related to an alleged bribery scheme connected with the retailer's growth in Mexico.

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Steven Salaita files lawsuit against the University of Illinois

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Controversial professor Steven Salaita, whose job offer at the University of Illinois was rescinded after he made anti-Israel comments on social media, filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that the university has violated the state's open records law.

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Government Transparency Group Won’t Say How Much Money it Wins From Open Records Lawsuits

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A group that claims to be a champion of transparency has been filing a slew of lawsuits against Florida's government agencies, ostensibly to force the agencies to comply with public records laws. But just how much money has the group won? They're not willing to say.

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Open Government Activist Seeks New Jersey Government Records

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In another action brought by John Paff, a “self-proclaimed open government activist” who has pursued litigation to secure government documents pursuant to the Open Public Record Acts (“OPRA”) in several instances, a Superior Court judge held that Paff was entitled to the documents he sought as well as attorneys’ fees associated with the action.

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UW regents move dinner meetings for public access

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Prompted by a legal challenge into whether its dinner meetings were truly open to the public, the University of Washington Board of Regents will no longer regularly be holding them at the off-campus home of UW President Michael Young, as has been its practice for many years.

Instead, the 10-member board will meet at the University of Washington Club, a nonprofit campus social club.

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The Virginian-Pilot sues FBI over denied request

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The Virginian-Pilot has filed a lawsuit against the FBI seeking information about a training exercise last year off the coast of Virginia Beach that claimed the lives of two agents.

The newspaper submitted a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act shortly after the May 17, 2013, deaths of Special Agents Christopher Lorek and Stephen Shaw. The paper sought "any reports or memos regarding the training accident," which involved the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team.

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