Case 1:20-cv-00493 Document 1 Filed 02/20/20 Page 1 of 8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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Plaintiff, )
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v.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
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1849 C Street NW
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Washington, DC 20240
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and
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BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
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1849 C Street NW
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Washington, DC 20240
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Defendants. )
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AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
1030 15th Street NW, B255
Washington, DC 20005

Case No. 20-cv-493

COMPLAINT
1.

Plaintiff American Oversight brings this action against the U.S. Department of the

Interior and the Bureau of Land Management under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. §
552 (FOIA), and the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202, seeking
declaratory and injunctive relief to compel compliance with the requirements of FOIA.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
2.

This Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B)

and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 2201, and 2202.
3.

Venue is proper in this district pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) and 28 U.S.C.

§ 1391(e).

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4.

Because Defendants the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land

Management have failed to comply with the applicable time-limit provisions of FOIA, American
Oversight is deemed to have constructively exhausted its administrative remedies pursuant to 5
U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i) and is now entitled to judicial action enjoining Defendants from
continuing to withhold agency records and ordering the production of agency records improperly
withheld.
PARTIES
5.

Plaintiff American Oversight is a nonpartisan, non-profit section 501(c)(3)

organization primarily engaged in disseminating information to the public. American Oversight
is committed to promoting transparency in government, educating the public about government
activities, and ensuring the accountability of government officials. Through research and FOIA
requests, American Oversight uses the information it gathers, and its analysis of it, to educate the
public about the activities and operations of the federal government through reports, published
analyses, press releases, and other media. The organization is incorporated under the laws of the
District of Columbia.
6.

Defendant the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is a department of the

executive branch of the U.S. government headquartered in Washington, DC, and an agency of
the federal government within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(1). DOI has possession, custody,
and control of the records that American Oversight seeks.
7.

Defendant the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a component of DOI and is

also headquartered in Washington, DC. BLM has possession, custody, and control of the records
that American Oversight seeks.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS
Jorjani Request
8.

On January 8, 2020, American Oversight submitted a FOIA request to DOI’s

Office of the Solicitor seeking email communications between or among Solicitor of the Interior
Daniel Jorjani and 26 external entities with an interest in DOI policy:
All email communications (including email messages, email
attachments, calendar invitations, and attachments thereto) between or
among Daniel Jorjani and any employee or representative of the
following:
a. American Enterprise Institute (including but not limited to any
individual communicating from an email address ending in
aei.org)
b. Americans for Prosperity (americansforprosperity.org)
c. American Petroleum Institute (api.org)
d. Antofagasta PLC (antofagsta.co.uk)
e. British Petroleum (bp.com)
f. Cadiz Inc. (cadizinc.com)
g. Cato Institute (cato.org)
h. Charles Koch Foundation (charleskochfoundation.org)
i. Charles Koch Institute (charleskochinstitute.org)
j. CO2 Coalition (co2coalition.org)
k. Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (cfact.org)
l. Competitive Enterprise Institute (cei.org)
m. Energy and Environmental Legal Institute (eelegal.org)
n. Exxon Mobil (exxonmobil.com)
o. Fred and Mary Koch Foundation (fmkfoundation.org)
p. Freedom Partners (freedompartners.org)
q. The Heartland Institute (heartland.org)
r. Heritage Foundation (heritage.org)
s. Institute for Energy Research (instituteforenergyresearch.org)
t. Koch Family Foundations (kochfamilyfoundations.org)
u. Koch Industries (kochind.com)
v. Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (manhattaninstitute.org)
w. National Mining Association (nma.org)
x. Pacific Research Institute (pacificresearch.org)
y. Texas Public Policy Foundation (texaspolicy.com)
z. The Right Climate Stuff (therightclimatestuff.com)

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Please provide all responsive records from May 1, 2017 through the date
the search is conducted.
9.

On October 24, 2018, DOI acknowledged receiving the Jorjani Request and

assigned the request tracking number SOL-2020-00075.
10.

American Oversight has not received any further communication from DOI

regarding this FOIA request.
Pendley Request
11.

On September 19, 2019, American Oversight submitted a FOIA request to BLM

seeking records relating to Acting Director William Pendley:
1. All calendars or calendar entries for Acting Director William Pendley,
including any calendars maintained on his behalf (e.g., by an
administrative assistant).
American Oversight requests that the calendars be produced in a format
that includes all invitees, any notes, and all attachments. Please do not
limit your search to Outlook calendars; we request the production of any
calendar—paper or electronic, whether on government-issued or
personal devices—used to track or coordinate how these individuals
allocate their time on agency business.
Please provide all responsive records from July 15, 2019, through the
date the search is conducted.
2. Any email communications (including emails, email attachments, and
calendar invitations) sent by Acting Director William Pendley to any
email address ending in .com, .org, .edu, .net, or .mail.
In an effort to accommodate BLM and reduce the number of responsive
records to be processed and produced, American Oversight has limited
its request to emails sent by Mr. Pendley. To be clear, however,
American Oversight still requests that complete email chains be
produced, displaying both the sent messages and the prior received
messages in each email chain. This means, for example, that both Mr.
Pendley’s response to an email from a responsive email address and the
initial received message are responsive to this request and should be
produced.

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This request includes all prior messages (whether incoming or outgoing)
reflected in the responsive correspondence and any attachments thereto.
Please provide all responsive records from July 15, 2019, through the
date the search is conducted.
3. To the extent not responsive to part 2, all email communications
(including emails, email attachments, and calendar invitations) that
include (a) William Pendley, Acting Director; Casey Hammond, former
Acting Director; Brian Steed, former Acting Director; Mike Nedd,
former Acting Director; and anyone else serving in the capacity of
Deputy Director for Policy and Programs, exercising authority of the
director, and (b) any person at the White House Office (including
anyone with an email address ending in @who.eop.gov) or any person
using an email address ending in .com, .org, .edu, .net, or .mail regarding
any planned, intended, or potential transfer of BLM-managed federal
land to state ownership or custody.
Please provide all responsive records from January 20, 2017, through
the date the search is conducted.
4. Any conflicts or ethics waivers or authorizations, including
authorizations pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 2635.502, for Acting Director
William Pendley.
5. Records reflecting any recusal determination made or issued for Acting
Director William Pendley.
For parts 4 and 5, please provide all responsive records from July 15,
2019, through the date the search is conducted.
12.

As of the time of this filing, American Oversight has received no communication

from BLM regarding the Pendley FOIA.
Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
13.

As of the date of this Complaint, Defendants have failed to (a) notify American

Oversight of a final determination regarding American Oversight’s FOIA requests, including the
scope of responsive records Defendants intend to produce or withhold and the reasons for any

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withholdings; or (b) produce the requested records or demonstrate that the requested records are
lawfully exempt from production.
14.

Through Defendants’ failure to respond to American Oversight’s FOIA requests

within the time period required by law, American Oversight has constructively exhausted its
administrative remedies and seeks immediate judicial review.
COUNT I
Violation of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552
Failure to Conduct Adequate Searches for Responsive Records
15.

American Oversight repeats the allegations in the foregoing paragraphs and

incorporates them as though fully set forth herein.
16.

American Oversight properly requested records within the possession, custody,

and control of Defendants.
17.

Defendants are agencies subject to FOIA and must therefore make reasonable

efforts to search for requested records.
18.

Defendants have failed to promptly review agency records for the purpose of

locating those records that are responsive to American Oversight’s FOIA requests.
19.

Defendants’ failure to conduct adequate searches for responsive records violates

20.

Plaintiff American Oversight is therefore entitled to declaratory and injunctive

FOIA.

relief requiring Defendants to promptly make reasonable efforts to search for records responsive
to American Oversight’s FOIA requests.

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COUNT II
Violation of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552
Wrongful Withholding of Non-Exempt Records
21.

American Oversight repeats the allegations in the foregoing paragraphs and

incorporates them as though fully set forth herein.
22.

American Oversight properly requested records within the possession, custody,

and control of Defendants.
23.

Defendants are agencies subject to FOIA and must therefore release in response to

a FOIA request any non-exempt records and provide a lawful reason for withholding any
materials.
24.

Defendants are wrongfully withholding non-exempt agency records requested by

American Oversight by failing to produce records responsive to its FOIA requests.
25.

Defendants are wrongfully withholding non-exempt agency records requested by

American Oversight by failing to segregate exempt information in otherwise non-exempt records
responsive to American Oversight’s FOIA requests.
26.

Defendants’ failure to provide all non-exempt responsive records violates FOIA.

27.

Plaintiff American Oversight is therefore entitled to declaratory and injunctive

relief requiring Defendants to promptly produce all non-exempt records responsive to its FOIA
requests and provide an index justifying the withholding of any responsive records withheld
under claim of exemption.
REQUESTED RELIEF
WHEREFORE, American Oversight respectfully requests the Court to:
(1) Order Defendants to conduct a search or searches reasonably calculated to uncover all
records responsive to American Oversight’s FOIA requests;

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(2) Order Defendants to produce, by such date as the Court deems appropriate, any and
all non-exempt records responsive to American Oversight’s FOIA requests and an
index justifying the withholding of any responsive records withheld under claim of
exemption;
(3) Enjoin Defendants from continuing to withhold any and all non-exempt records
responsive to American Oversight’s FOIA requests;
(4) Award American Oversight attorneys’ fees and other litigation costs reasonably
incurred in this action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E); and
(5) Grant American Oversight such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.

Dated: February 20, 2020

Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Hart W. Wood
Hart W. Wood
D.C. Bar No. 1034361
AMERICAN OVERSIGHT
1030 15th Street NW, B255
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 873-1743
hart.wood@americanoversight.org
Counsel for Plaintiff

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