UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DAVE LEVINTHAL |

910 17th Street, N.W., 7th Floor |

Washington, DC 20006-2606, and |

|

CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY |

910 17th Street, N.W., 7th Floor |

Washington, DC 20006-2606, |

|

Plaintiffs, |

|

v. | Civil Action No. 15-1148

|

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION |

999 E Street, N.W. |

Washington, DC 20463, |

|

Defendant. |

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

Plaintiffs, Dave Levinthal and the Center for Public Integrity (“the Center”), bring this 

action for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging as follows:

Nature of Action

1. This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 

552, as amended, to compel the production of certain agency records related to Medicare 

Advantage plans.

Jurisdiction and Venue

2. This Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B), 

28 U.S.C. § 1331, and 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a).

3. Venue lies in this district pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) and 28 U.S.C. § 

1391.

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Parties

4. Plaintiff Dave Levinthal is a senior investigative reporter employed by the Center 

for Public Integrity. His assignments include covering the Federal Election Commission and the 

influence of money in federal politics.

5. Plaintiff Center for Public Integrity is a District of Columbia corporation, a taxexempt public charity and a nonprofit, nonpartisan, non-advocacy, independent journalism 

organization based in Washington, D.C. The Center’s mission is “[t]o serve democracy by 

revealing abuses of power, corruption and betrayal of public trust by powerful public and private 

institutions, using the tools of investigative journalism.” “About The Center for Public Integrity,”

http://www.publicintegrity.org/about.

6. Plaintiffs are the requesters of the withheld records.

7. Defendant, Federal Election Commission (“FEC”), is an agency of the United 

States. Defendant has possession of and control over the records that plaintiffs seek.

Plaintiffs’ Freedom of Information Request

8. By email dated August 14, 2014, addressed to FOIA@fec.gov, Plaintiffs

requested

any and all scheduling documents and/or records — be them in paper or 

electronic form — used by FEC commissioners. 

Such documents should include, but not be limited to, calendars, schedules, 

emails and itineraries that list or account for commissioners’ meetings, 

whereabouts or travels when conducting government business or traveling 

to/from engagements or duties involving government business.

The timeframe these documents and records should cover is Oct. 21, 2013, to 

Aug. 14, 2014. 

9. By email dated August 15, 2014, Defendant acknowledged receipt of Plaintiffs’

request, assigning it the tracking number 2014-78.

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Defendant’s Processing of the Request

10. On May 19, 2015, in an “interim response” to Plaintiffs’ request, Defendant 

produced some responsive documents. Defendant acknowledged that it possesses additional 

responsive documents.

11. Defendant has not yet issued a final determination with respect to Plaintiffs’

request.

12. More than twenty working days have passed since Defendant received Plaintiffs’

request. Plaintiffs have therefore exhausted all applicable administrative remedies.

13. Plaintiffs have a statutory right to the requested records, and there is no legal basis 

for Defendant’s failure to make them available to Plaintiffs.

Demand for Relief

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs request that this Court:

1. Declare that Defendant’s failure to disclose the records requested by Plaintiffs is 

unlawful;

2. Order Defendant to make the requested records available to Plaintiffs;

3. Award Plaintiffs their costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees in this action; and

4. Grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

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Respectfully submitted,

/S/

Peter Newbatt Smith 

D.C. Bar #458244 

Center for Public Integrity

910 17th Street, N.W., 7th Floor

Washington, DC 20006-2606

202-481-1239

psmith@publicintegrity.org

Attorney for Plaintiffs

July 20, 2014

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