When the agency stonewalls, we sue for the records.
The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to federal agency records. Agencies resist anyway — they miss the deadline, claim exemptions broadly, and produce documents bled out with redactions. DC Federal Litigation, led by Sherrod Seward, Esq., drafts FOIA requests built to withstand that resistance and files in U.S. District Court when agencies refuse to comply. We don’t just request records. We’ve sued a federal agency for them as the plaintiff.
We don’t just file FOIA requests. We litigate them. When an agency ignores the statutory deadline or hides behind an exemption that doesn’t fit, the only place that can compel disclosure is federal court — and that is the firm’s home ground.
We’ve been on the plaintiff’s side of a FOIA complaint.
Most firms that advertise FOIA work will draft your request and wait. This firm took the step few will: when USCIS treated the firm’s own matters differently and then resisted producing records about it, we filed a FOIA lawsuit in our own name — Law Offices of Sherrod Seward, PLLC v. USCIS, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
That experience changes how we handle your case. We know how agencies stall, how they misread a request to avoid answering it, and how they reach for exemptions like B6 to withhold information that isn’t actually personal or private. We’ve had to break through exactly that — so we draft and litigate to anticipate it from the first line of the request.
FOIA litigation isn’t only about getting documents. It’s about accountability — forcing a federal agency to show its work, and building the record you need for whatever comes next.
Filed as Plaintiff
The firm sued USCIS under FOIA in its own name — not theory, a docket.
We Know the Tactics
Missed deadlines, misread requests, overbroad exemption claims. We’ve seen and challenged them.
Built for the Fight
Requests drafted to anticipate the denial, so the litigation is stronger if it’s needed.
Fees Recoverable
When you substantially prevail, FOIA lets the court shift reasonable attorney’s fees to the government.
Federal records are presumptively public.
The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) requires federal executive-branch agencies to disclose records on request unless one of nine narrow exemptions applies. The presumption runs toward disclosure — exemptions are construed narrowly, and you never have to explain why you want the records.
From the first request to federal court.
We guide requesters through every stage of the FOIA process — and we’re built to escalate to litigation when an agency leaves no other option.
FOIA Lawsuits to Compel Records
When administrative remedies fail, we sue in U.S. District Court to compel production, challenge exemption claims, force an adequate search, and recover attorney’s fees where you substantially prevail.
5 U.S.C. § 552FOIA Request Preparation
Requests drafted to identify records precisely enough to be found, broadly enough to capture what matters, and worded to anticipate the exemptions an agency will reach for.
Fee Waivers & Expedited Processing
We establish public-interest fee waivers and the grounds for expedited handling — urgency to inform the public, or an imminent threat to life or safety.
Administrative Appeals & Exemption Challenges
When an agency denies or under-produces, we analyze the response for legal error, draft the appeal, challenge overbroad exemptions, and press for segregability — partial release of what can’t lawfully be withheld.
Privacy Act Requests & Litigation
Access and amendment of records the government keeps about you under 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and litigation for wrongful disclosure, inaccurate records, or denial of access.
Information Analysis & Use
Getting the documents is the start. We help analyze what comes back and put it to work — for investigative reporting, evidence, research, or advocacy.
The records exist. You have a right to them.
Requesters We Serve
- Journalists and media investigating government programs and decisions
- Businesses seeking agency records, competitor filings, or regulatory data
- Researchers and watchdog organizations building the public record
- Attorneys gathering agency records to support other litigation
- Individuals seeking their own files, denial records, or adjudication details
When to Bring Us In
- The agency blew past the 20-business-day deadline and went silent
- Your request came back denied, or gutted with redactions
- The agency misread your request to avoid answering it
- An exemption was claimed that plainly doesn’t fit the records
- Your administrative appeal was denied and court is the next step
What an agency may withhold — and often overclaims.
FOIA permits withholding under nine exemptions. They are construed narrowly, and agencies routinely stretch them past their limits. Testing an overbroad claim is much of what FOIA litigation is.
Classified Information
National-security information properly classified under executive order.
Internal Personnel Rules
Internal agency rules and practices — read narrowly after Milner v. Department of the Navy.
Statutory Exemptions
Information another statute specifically shields, such as tax returns or certain intelligence files.
Confidential Business Information
Trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial information.
Deliberative Process
Pre-decisional, deliberative inter- or intra-agency communications — drafts and recommendations.
Personal Privacy
Personnel and medical files whose release would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. Frequently overclaimed to shield non-private, official information.
Law Enforcement Records
Records whose release would interfere with enforcement, reveal sources, invade privacy, endanger safety, or deny a fair trial.
Financial Institution Regulation
Information on the examination, operation, or condition of regulated financial institutions.
How a FOIA lawsuit actually moves.
Complaint & Filing
We file in U.S. District Court — where you reside, where the records are, or in the District of Columbia, where every agency has a presence and which hears a large share of FOIA cases — alleging the violation and seeking an order compelling disclosure.
Vaughn Index & Review
If the agency withholds, the court can require a Vaughn index justifying each withholding document by document, and may review the documents privately (in camera) to test the exemption claims rather than take them on faith.
Judgment & Fees
Most FOIA cases are decided on summary judgment on the administrative record. The court orders release of improperly withheld records and may award attorney’s fees where the requester substantially prevails.
From the firm that litigates this.
Why we filed a FOIA lawsuit on the firm’s own behalf
After three contentious visa cases, we saw our firm’s filings treated differently than the same work filed under other attorneys’ names. Here’s why we sued USCIS under FOIA to find out — and how the strategy works.
Read the article →When an agency misuses the B6 exemption to hide official information
We asked USCIS for an adjudicating officer’s ID number — an official identifier — and the agency wrongly invoked the personal-privacy exemption. What that tells you about fighting overbroad withholdings.
Read the article →Straight answers on FOIA and suing for records.
Can you sue a federal agency for not responding to a FOIA request?
Yes. FOIA requires agencies to respond within 20 business days. If an agency misses that deadline, the law treats it as a constructive denial and you can file suit in U.S. District Court to compel a response and production. You can also sue after an express denial, a denied appeal, or an inadequate search or production.
How long does the FOIA process take?
Agencies must make a determination within 20 business days, extendable by 10 in unusual circumstances. In practice, complex or sensitive requests take far longer, and backlogged agencies routinely miss the deadline — which is itself grounds to sue.
Can I recover attorney’s fees if I win?
Yes. A requester who substantially prevails can recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Courts weigh the public benefit of disclosure, any commercial benefit to the requester, the requester’s interest in the records, and how the government litigated.
What is a Vaughn index?
It’s a document-by-document justification a court can order an agency to produce when it withholds records. The agency must identify each withheld document and explain the specific exemption claimed — so the withholding can be tested instead of taken on faith.
Can a non-citizen or a company file a FOIA request?
Yes. Any person — including non-citizens, companies, organizations, and foreign nationals — can request federal agency records, and you don’t have to say why you want them. Records are presumptively public, subject to nine narrow exemptions.
Can a law firm sue an agency for records about its own cases?
Yes — and this firm has. When you suspect an agency is handling your matters differently, FOIA is a way to make it show its work. We filed a FOIA action as the named plaintiff against USCIS to do exactly that.
$500. Credits 100% toward your retainer.
Sixty minutes with Sherrod Seward, Esq. Bring the request the agency ignored, the denial that doesn’t add up, or the records you can’t get any other way. We’ll tell you honestly whether federal court is the right move. If we engage on the merits, the consultation fee credits in full toward the retainer.
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