Case: Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Office of Management and Budget

1:26-cv-01224 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia

Filed Date: April 13, 2026

Case Ongoing

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

On April 13, 2026, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Center submitted five Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to OMB seeking calendars and schedules of high-ranking officials, including Director Russell Vought, General Counsel Mark Paoletta, former Acting Administrator Jeffrey Clark, former Director Stuart Levenbach, and approximately 45 Office of Information…

On April 13, 2026, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Center submitted five Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to OMB seeking calendars and schedules of high-ranking officials, including Director Russell Vought, General Counsel Mark Paoletta, former Acting Administrator Jeffrey Clark, former Director Stuart Levenbach, and approximately 45 Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) career civil servants. The Center sought these records to track actions by these officials to review, delay, revise, and rescind environmental protections, particularly in connection with regulatory rollbacks during the Trump Administration and large-scale workforce reductions. According to the complaint, OMB failed to respond to these requests within FOIA's statutory deadlines, with some requests dating back to March 2025. OMB allegedly provided estimated completion times of 36-48 months for some requests. The Center brought three claims under FOIA: that OMB failed to comply with mandatory determination deadlines, failed to conduct an adequate search for responsive records, and failed to promptly disclose all responsive records. The Center sought declaratory and injunctive relief requiring OMB to immediately make determinations on the FOIA requests, conduct proper searches, and produce all nonexempt responsive records, as well as attorneys' fees and costs.

This case is ongoing

Summary Authors

Kelli Wilkes (6/30/2026)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73181187/parties/center-for-biological-diversity-v-us-office-of-management-and-budget/


Judge(s)

Contreras, Rudolph (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Ditmars, Ivan (District of Columbia)

Glass, John (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Thanhauser, William (District of Columbia)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document
1

1:26-cv-01224

Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief

April 13, 2026

April 13, 2026

Complaint
9

1:26-cv-01224

Joint Status Report

June 26, 2026

June 26, 2026

Findings Letter/Report

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73181187/center-for-biological-diversity-v-us-office-of-management-and-budget/

Last updated July 1, 2026, 1:44 p.m.

ECF Number Description Date Link Date / Link
1

COMPLAINT against OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-12356008) filed by CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons, # 3 Summons, # 4 Summons)(Ditmars, Ivan) (Entered: 04/13/2026)

1 Civil Cover Sheet

View on PACER

2 Summons

View on PACER

3 Summons

View on PACER

4 Summons

View on PACER

April 13, 2026

April 13, 2026

Clearinghouse
2

LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (Ditmars, Ivan) (Entered: 04/13/2026)

April 13, 2026

April 13, 2026

3

SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(gsk) (Entered: 04/14/2026)

April 14, 2026

April 14, 2026

Case Assigned to Judge Rudolph Contreras. (gsk)

April 14, 2026

April 14, 2026

Case Assigned/Reassigned

April 14, 2026

April 14, 2026

4

NOTICE of Appearance by John Glass on behalf of CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (Glass, John) (Entered: 04/20/2026)

April 20, 2026

April 20, 2026

5

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 4/28/2026. ( Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 5/28/2026.), RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 04/28/26., RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET served on 5/4/2026 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Certified Mail Electronic Return Receipts)(Ditmars, Ivan) (Entered: 05/04/2026)

May 4, 2026

May 4, 2026

6

NOTICE of Appearance by William Thanhauser on behalf of All Defendants (Thanhauser, William) (Entered: 05/08/2026)

May 8, 2026

May 8, 2026

7

Unopposed MOTION for Extension of Time to Respond to the Complaint by U.S. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Thanhauser, William) (Entered: 05/23/2026)

May 23, 2026

May 23, 2026

MINUTE ORDER granting 7 Defendant's Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to the Complaint: It is hereby ORDERED that Defendant shall answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint on or before June 11, 2026. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Rudolph Contreras on 05/26/2026. (lcrc3)

May 26, 2026

May 26, 2026

Order on Motion for Extension of Time to

May 26, 2026

May 26, 2026

Set/Reset Deadlines

May 26, 2026

May 26, 2026

Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer due by 6/11/2026. (tj)

May 26, 2026

May 26, 2026

8

ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.(Thanhauser, William) (Entered: 06/11/2026)

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

.Order

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

MINUTE ORDER: It is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall meet, confer, and jointly submit a proposed briefing schedule on or before June 26, 2026. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Rudolph Contreras on 06/12/2026. (lcrc3)

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

Set/Reset Deadlines

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026

Set/Reset Deadlines: Proposed Briefing Schedule due by 6/26/2026 (tj)

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026

9

Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. (Thanhauser, William) (Entered: 06/26/2026)

June 26, 2026

June 26, 2026

Clearinghouse

MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 9 the parties' Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall submit another joint status report on or before September 14, 2026. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Rudolph Contreras on 06/29/2026. (lcrc3)

June 29, 2026

June 29, 2026

.Order

June 29, 2026

June 29, 2026

Set/Reset Deadlines: Status Report due by 9/14/2026 (tj)

June 30, 2026

June 30, 2026

Set/Reset Deadlines

June 30, 2026

June 30, 2026

Case Details

State / Territory:

District of Columbia

Case Type(s):

Privacy

Environmental Justice

Special Collection(s):

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government

Key Dates

Filing Date: April 13, 2026

Case Ongoing: Yes

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Nonprofit environmental organization

Plaintiff Type(s):

Non-profit NON-religious organization

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Federal

United States Office of Management and Budget

Facility Type(s):

Government-run

Case Details

Causes of Action:

FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552

Other Dockets:

District of District of Columbia 1:26-cv-01224

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: None Yet / None

Relief Sought:

Attorneys fees

Declaratory judgment

Document/Information

Injunction

Relief Granted:

None yet

Source of Relief:

None yet

Issues

Presidential/Gubernatorial Authority:

Access to information systems

Recommended Citation