Phillips v. U.S. Bureau of the Census

No Evidence Lawsuit Caused Census Bureau's Release of Files Sought Under FOIA

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OPINION AND ORDER On August 11, 2023, plaintiff, Justin H. Phillips, filed a motion for attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §552(a)(4)(E)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). See Notice of Mot., ECF No. 21. After full consideration of the parties’ written submissions, the Court hereby denies plaintiff’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs. I. Factual and Procedural Background On July 7, 2022, plaintiff, a political science professor at Columbia University, filed a FOIA request with defendant, the U.S. Census Bureau, seeking “privacy protected noisy data files for both the 2020 Census and the demonstration data pulled from the 2010 Census.” Compl.,

6, 8, 41, ECF No. 1. After 116 days in which the Census Bureau neither produced the requested documents nor provided an update about whether plaintiff’s FOIA request would be granted, plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit. See id. 48. Plaintiff alleged that the Census Bureau violated FOIA by failing to respond to plaintiff’s FOIA request within the statutorily required timeframe and by failing to produce the requested documents. Id.

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