Ecological Rights Foundation v. Department of Justice

Background

Ecological Rights Foundation (EcoRights) submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 10, 2026. DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division received the request on April 9, assigned it to complex processing, and invoked FOIA’s provision for unusual circumstances because consultation with another agency was necessary. EcoRights sued on June 10, 2026.

DOJ made an initial release of 686 pages on July 21 and a second release of 202 pages on September 4. The second release included redactions under FOIA Exemption 6. DOJ estimated that it would complete its response by December 4, 2026, and on September 17 initiated the remaining interagency consultations.

EcoRights asked the court to require final production by December 4, with interim productions on dates certain beginning October 2. It also proposed a schedule for partial summary judgment and requested a Vaughn index, a document describing withheld records and the claimed exemptions, with DOJ’s opposition. DOJ opposed an enforceable scheduling order and argued that summary-judgment briefing and a Vaughn index were premature before processing ended.

Court’s analysis

The court ordered an enforceable production schedule largely based on DOJ’s own dates. It found that the statutory deadline had passed, that an earlier estimated release had slipped, and that the consultations were initiated only after the lawsuit and later case-management discussions. The court concluded that dates certain would protect EcoRights if DOJ’s estimate slipped again.

The court required DOJ to produce all non-exempt responsive records then available by October 16, 2026; produce all additional non-exempt responsive records then available by November 16, 2026; and issue its final determination and complete production of all remaining non-exempt responsive records by December 4, 2026. The December 4 deadline includes records subject to interagency consultation.

By October 16, DOJ also must either adjudicate EcoRights’ fee-waiver request or confirm in writing that it will not charge fees. Each production must include a cover letter identifying claimed exemptions and stating whether any responsive records were withheld in full. If no records are available for release by an interim deadline, DOJ must file a short explanation. DOJ may seek a revised deadline by filing, before the deadline, a statement showing good cause.

The court deferred disputes about production format, metadata, Exemption 6 redactions, and DOJ’s foreseeable-harm explanation until after production. The parties must meet and confer about format and metadata and file a joint status report by November 5 identifying any remaining disputes and proposing a schedule, including a deadline for a Vaughn index if exemption disputes remain.

Ruling

The court ordered the production schedule described above. It denied without prejudice EcoRights’ proposed summary-judgment briefing schedule because the ordered production timetable supplied the relief sought by that motion and because briefing about searches, exemptions, foreseeable harm, and format during processing would fragment the case. The court stated that EcoRights could later seek a briefing schedule if DOJ missed an ordered deadline without first obtaining relief. The court also ordered that there be no discovery absent a further court order and reset the September 24, 2026 case-management conference to November 12, 2026.

This is a procedural order because it manages the timing and process of the FOIA case without deciding whether DOJ improperly withheld any records or whether its redactions were lawful.