Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP v. District of Columbia

D.C. Superior Court, Case No. 2020-CA-3087-B

Court Documents

Complaint, July 13, 2020

Order Granting Summary Judgment for TPM, July 23, 2021

TPM’s Appeal Brief, dated January 28, 2022

Brief for Amici Curiae D.C. Open Government Coalition, American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Public Citizen, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Washington, D.C. Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in Support of Appellee and Affirmance, February 4, 2022

Brief of Amicus Curiae Council of the District of Columbia in Support of Appellee Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP and Affirmance, dated February 8, 2022

Other Open Government/FOIA Cases

Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition v. Federal Highway Administration

In 2020, TPM asked the D.C. Superior Court to order the District of Columbia to turn over budget materials that reflect determinations by DC agencies about how much money they need to do their work. DC law requires that information to be made public and posted online on a District of Columbia website. On July 23, 2021, the Superior Court rejected the Mayor’s arguments that she was entitled to withhold the documents and ordered them to be placed online.

That order was stayed pending the Mayor’s appeal to the D.C. Court of Appeals. In that appeal (District of Columbia v. Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP (No. 21-CV-543)), the Mayor seeks to have the DC FOIA provision at issue declared invalid, contending that the budget transparency imposed by statute would violate the District Charter. Oral argument was held before the Court of Appeals on September 28, 2022 (recording here). The case is awaiting a decision.

On October 14, 2022, the Washington City Paper reported on this matter in an article titled, “Bowser Fights Budget Transparency. No One Is Surprised.” Click here for that article.

For more information, please contact Todd Gluckman at tgluckman@tpmlaw.com or 202-204-8482.