Americans for Public Trust v. HHS and CDC — N.D. Ga., Atlanta, No. 1:21-cv-02834-ELR

Case summary

Americans for Public Trust brought this Freedom of Information Act suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, No. 1:21-cv-02834-ELR. The complaint, filed July 15, 2021, seeks records of emails, communications, correspondence and talking points describing CDC guidance for the reopening of schools from January 15, 2021 onward in seven named CDC officials' email accounts, and a determination on the plaintiff's administrative appeal of redactions in 497 pages already produced. It asks for declaratory and injunctive relief and for fees and costs under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E). The page also carries the CDC FOIA officer's December 10, 2021 declaration and a Vaughn index. No order deciding the case is on this page.

Case at a glance

What does the complaint allege?

That HHS and the CDC failed to fulfill the plaintiff's February 4, 2021 FOIA request for records and failed to make an immediate determination on its administrative appeal challenging redactions. The complaint states that the CDC produced responsive records on April 21, 2021 and that the plaintiff now seeks the remaining records HHS acknowledged receiving from the CDC on April 21 but had not yet processed, while challenging redactions across the 497 pages produced.

What records were requested?

Records from January 15, 2021 to the date of the request, in particular emails, communications, correspondence and talking points describing CDC guidance for the reopening of schools, in the email accounts of seven named CDC officials. The request letter filed as Exhibit 1 is dated February 4 but types the year as 2020; the complaint dates the request February 4, 2021.

What does the government's declaration say?

The declaration of the Director of the CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office states that processing identified 497 pages of responsive documents and that on April 21, 2021 the CDC wrote to the plaintiff releasing 63 pages in full and 189 pages in part and withholding 148 pages in full under FOIA Exemptions 5 and 6, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) and (b)(6), with 97 of the 497 pages referred to another HHS FOIA office.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.