Natural Resources Defense Council v. National Marine Fisheries Services, 409 F. Supp. 2d 379 (S.D.N.Y. 2006)
Case Summary:
We represented Natural Resources Defense Council in a challenge to the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) refusal to release critical records concerning the Navy's use of mid-frequency active sonar, and its impacts on marine mammals and other marine life. After the agency released some material to NRDC, the parties briefed whether NMFS conducted an adequate search for records and whether it had properly withheld one critical document under Exemption 5. In January 2006, the court ordered NMFS to release the withheld document, and NMFS agreed to conduct a greatly expanded supplemental search for records. As a consequence, NMFS has released many additional documents highlighting the adverse impacts of sonar on many species of marine mammals.
Plaintiff: Natural Resources Defense Council
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York