SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco journalist is suing two federal government entities over allegations of violating the Freedom of Information Act.
Seth Rosenfeld filed the complaint on March 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that he was denied fee waivers when requesting for records of government activities specifically related to the Black Panther Party. The plaintiff holds U.S. Department of Justice and FBI responsible because the defendants allegedly determined that Rosenfeld did not qualify under the FOIA as a news media representative and would not refund the fees, and later closed his FOIA request for nonpayment of the fees.
The plaintiff seeks the following: declare that the defendants violated the FOIA by refusing plaintiff's requests of information and waiving of fees, all legal fees and any other relief as this court deems just and proper. He is represented by Thomas R. Burke and Kathleen Cullinan of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in San Francisco.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Case number 4:16-cv-01154-KAW