Informed Consent Action Network v. National Institutes of Health

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied Informed Consent Action Network’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs in consolidated Freedom of Information Act actions against the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services. The court held that the plaintiff failed to show that its lawsuits caused the agencies to release the requested records or substantially accelerated processing under the FOIA catalyst theory. The court therefore did not reach whether the plaintiff was entitled to fees.

Holdings

1. The plaintiff was not eligible for attorneys' fees because it failed to establish that its lawsuits substantially caused NIH to release the requested records.
2. The plaintiff did not establish that NIH suddenly accelerated its processing in response to the lawsuits.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the plaintiff substantially prevailed and was eligible for attorneys' fees under the FOIA catalyst theory.
2. Whether the plaintiff's lawsuits caused NIH to release the responsive records or caused a sudden acceleration in NIH's processing of the requests.

Disposition

other