Humane Society of the United States v. Department of Agriculture, Civ. No. 05-197 (D.D.C.)
Case Summary:
We represented The Humane Society of the United States in a Freedom of Information Act and Administrative Procedure Act case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the agency's failure to release thousands of research facilities' annual reports to USDA regarding the facilities' use, breeding, and maintenance of live animals, and a list of all the facilities that utilize and maintain ape species. The lawsuit also challenged the USDA's decision to no longer make the research facilities' annual reports electronically available on the USDA's website under the E-FOIA. Following the filing of our complaint in federal court and a Court order to release records, the USDA released many, but not all, of the Annual Reports. Because of the missing Reports, substantial withholdings under Exemption 4 in released Reports, and the USDA's refusal to acknowledge its legal obligation to make the Annual Reports electronically available, we continued to pursue the case. We then reached a comprehensive settlement, with USDA argeeing to resume making the reports available to the public on a regular basis.
Plaintiffs: The Humane Society of the United States
Court: United States District Court for the District of Columbia