UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Civil Action No. 21-406 (TJK)

CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER,

Plaintiff,

v.

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION,

Defendant.

ORDER

Before the Court is Campaign Legal Center’s motion for default judgment. See ECF No. 

10. The Court FINDS that:

• On October 16, 2018, Campaign Legal Center (“CLC”) filed an administrative 

complaint with Defendant Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) alleging that Heritage Action, a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) corporation, violated the Federal Election 

Campaign Act (“FECA”). See ECF No. 1-1. The FEC acknowledged receipt of 

the complaint a few days later, identifying it as Matter Under Review (“MUR”) 

7516. But the FEC has taken no action on CLC’s complaint. 

• CLC sued the FEC for its failure to act on February 16, 2021, but the FEC has failed 

to defend this action, and it is not an infant, an incompetent person, or a person in 

the military service of the United States. 

• The Clerk of Court properly entered default against the FEC. See ECF No. 9.

• CLC has standing to pursue its claim against the FEC because it seeks the information it claims Heritage Action unlawfully withheld. See ECF No. 1 ¶ 6; CLC v. 

FEC, No. 20-cv-809 (ABJ), 2021 WL 5178968, at *5 (D.D.C. Nov. 8, 2021); CLC 

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v. Iowa Values, --- F. Supp. 3d ---- , 2021 WL 5416635, at *5–6 (D.D.C. Nov. 19, 

2021); FEC v. Akins, 524 U.S. 11, 21 (1998).

• The FEC’s failure to act on CLC’s administrative complaint is contrary to law under the factors set forth in Common Cause v. FEC, 489 F. Supp. 738, 744 (D.D.C. 

1980), and Telecommunications Research and Action Center v. FCC, 750 F.2d 70, 

80 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (“TRAC”). Since October 2018, the FEC has failed to act on 

CLC’s supported, credible complaint alleging violations of FECA.1 The allegations 

do not present a novel issue, and there is no evidence that the FEC’s failure to act 

is due to a lack of resources, competing priorities, or lack of information. Moreover, the allegations outline a legitimate “threat[] to the health of our electoral processes.” Iowa Values, 2021 WL 5416635, at *4 (cleaned up). 

• Finally, CLC has incurred costs, as defined under 28 U.S.C. § 1920, in the amount 

of $400 in bringing this action. See ECF No. 10-2 ¶ 11. 

Therefore, on consideration of the motion and supporting declaration and exhibits, it is 

hereby ORDERED that, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b), default judgment be 

entered in favor of CLC and against the FEC. 

It is further ORDERED that, pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 30109(a)(8)(C), the FEC conform to 

this Court’s Order within 30 days by acting on CLC’s administrative complaint, MUR 7516. 

1 The FEC lacked a quorum of commissioners on two separate occasions during this period—from 

September 1, 2019, to June 5, 2020, and again from July 3, 2020, to December 18, 2020. See ECF 

No. 10 at 5 (quoting press releases). And there is an open question on whether a court may find 

that an agency has unlawfully withheld action when the agency lacks quorum. See Arizona v. Inter 

Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc., 570 U.S. 1, 19 n.10 (2013). But because the FEC has had a quorum 

for most of the period that CLC’s complaint has been pending, it has been statutorily capable of 

acting on CLC’s complaint. Thus, there is no need to address here the question left open in Inter 

Tribal Council. 

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It is further ORDERED that this Court shall retain jurisdiction over this matter until the 

FEC takes final agency action with respect to CLC’s administrative complaint. See Cobell v. Norton, 240 F.3d 1081, 1109 (D.C. Cir. 2001); Alegent Health-Immanuel Med. Ctr. v. Sebelius, 917 

F. Supp. 2d 1, 3 (D.D.C. 2012). 

It is further ORDERED that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920, the FEC pay CLC $400 in 

costs associated with this action. 

SO ORDERED.

/s/ Timothy J. Kelly

TIMOTHY J. KELLY

United States District Judge

Date: March 25, 2022

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