Registry of 2015-2021 Activities of Public.Resource.Org

For more information about Public.Resource.Org—and how to support our work—please visit our about page.

1. Press and Speeches

2. Litigation and Petitions

2.1. American Society for Testing and Materials et. al. v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Hon. Tanya S. Chutkan
District Court Docket: 1:13-cv-01215
Current Status: The U.S. Court of Appeals has lifted the injunction and remanded the case to the U.S. District Court for further proceedings.
Representation: Fenwick & West, EFF, Durie Tangri, David Halperin
U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, Docket 17-7035

2.2. American Educational Research Association, Inc. et. al. v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Hon. Tanya S. Chutkan
District Court Docket: 1:14-cv-00857
Current Status: This case has been consolidated with the above-cited American Society for Testing and Materials at. al. v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.
Representation: Fenwick & West, EFF, Durie Tangri, David Halperin
U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, Docket 17-7035

2.3. Public.Resource.Org v. United States Internal Revenue Service

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Hon. William H. Orrick
Docket: 3:13-cv-02789
Current Status: The case has concluded and the Judge has ruled in favor of Public.Resource.Org. The IRS has announced that starting in 2016, they will begin wholesale release of e-file versions of nonprofit tax returns. Pro Publica has taken over our IRS archive and a full dump of all 8 million files is available on the Internet Archive for others wishing to serve this data
Documents:
- Full archive of letters and reports sent from 2012 to 2015
- Form 990s in e-file format released in 2015
Representation: Davis Wright Tremaine, assisted by David Halperin

2.4. Code Revision Commission et. al. v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Hon. Mark H. Cohen
Current Status: Public.Resource.Org prevailed in this suit. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the Opinion of the Court on April 27, 2020.
Representation: Alston & Bird, Elizabeth Rader of Calliope Law, Eric Citron of Goldstein & Russell, and David Halperin, Of Counsel to Public Resource.
District Court Docket: 1:15-cv-02594
Appellate Docket: Docket 17-11589
Supreme Court Docket: 18-1150
Oral Argument: December 2, 2019 [audio, transcript]

2.5. DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. and Carl Malamud

Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht (Hanseatic Higher Regional Court), Hamburg, Germany
Docket: Aktenzeichen 5 U 76/15
Current Status: An adverse judgment has been received by the Court of Second Instance. The matter is res judicata.
Representation: Morrison Foerster, iRights.Law

2.6. Petition to Her Majesty's Government, United Kingdom

Petition Submitted (October 5, 2015)
Letter to Cabinet Office (Full Docket) (Feburary 5, 2019)
Right To Know and Public.Resource.Org initiate legal action against the European Commission (April 2, 2019)
European Court of Justice Docket, Case T-18519

2.7. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.

High Court of Delhi in New Delhi
Writ Petition: WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 11901 OF 2015, December 12, 2015.
Full Docket: Docket
Current Status: The writ petition has been accepted and will be heard in the normal course of the court's business.
Representation: Chambers of Jawahar Raga (senior counsellor) and Shri Salman Khurshid (senior counsellor)

2.8. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

Correspondence:
- Letter to Congressman Mike Honda (March 3, 2015)
- Letter to the Administrative Office (March 2, 2015)
- Refund Request to PACER Service Center (March 12, 2015)
- Letter from the Administrative Office (March 24, 2015)
- Refund Response from PACER Service Center (March 25, 2015)
- Report of Systematic Privacy Breaches (March 30, 2015)
- Report of Systematic Billing Errors (March 31, 2015)
- Letter to the Honorable Darrell Issa (July 28, 2015)
- Letter to the Honorable Chuck Grassley (August 17, 2015)
Litigation: Fee Exemption Application for Public.Resource.Org, Docket 15-80056, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The motion was Denied by the Chief Judge on July 6, 2015
Representation: Davis Wright Tremaine
Advocacy:
- Yo.YourHonor.Org
- PACER Postcards
- Signed Cards, Batches 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

2.9. Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives

Letter of Invitation (January 14, 2014)
Testimony of Carl Malamud (January 14, 2014)
Request for Updated Information (July 20, 2015)
Public Resource response to request (November 20, 2015)

2.10. American Bar Association, House of Delegates

Initial Submission of Report and Resolution (April 6, 2017)
Partial Audit of ABA Publications (April 6, 2017)
Revision per Feedback From Rules and Calendar (May 23, 2017)
Response to Intellectual Property Section (June 4, 2017)
Resolution as Calendared (June 16, 2017)
Draft Opening Statement (July 30, 2017)
Draft Closing Statement (August 3, 2017)
Memorandum of Withdrawal (August 6, 2017)

2.11. Public.Resource.Org and Right to Know Ireland v. European Commission

Public Records Act Request to European Commission (September 25, 2018)
Denial of Request (November 15, 2018)
Appeal of Denial of Freedom of Information Request on Harmonised Standards (November 22, 2018)
Denial of Appeal (January 22, 2019)
Case T-185/19, Case Brought Before the European Court of Justice (March 28, 2019)

3. Standards and Codes

Please consult law.resource.org or Internet Archive for access to standards and codes.

4. Comments on Notices of Proposed Rulemaking

4.1. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) (Dept. of Transportation)

Subject: Hazardous Materials: Miscellaneous Amendments (RRR)
Regulations.Gov Docket: PHMSA-2013-0225 (Docket Closed March 24, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 3787, January 23, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: March 24, 2015
Co-Signatories: Greenpeace USA
Final Rule: 81 FR 35483, June 2, 2016

4.2. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) (Dept. of Transportation)

Subject: National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Pavement Condition for the National Highway Performance Program and Bridge Condition for the National Highway Performance Program
Regulations.Gov Docket: FHWA-2013-0053 (Docket Closed April 6, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 325, January 5, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: April 3, 2015
Co-Signatories: Center for Auto Safety
Final Rule: 80 FR 325, January 18, 2017

4.3. United States Coast Guard (Dept. of Homeland Security)

Subject: Commercial Diving Operations - Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM)
Regulation.Gov Docket: USCG-1998-3786 (Docket Closed May 20, 2015, Subsequently Reopened)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 9151, Feburary 19, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: May 7, 2015
Co-Signatories: Certified Divers, Including Joichi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab; David Helvarg, Executive Director, Blue Frontier Campaign; Buck Calabro, Professional Computer Programmer and Diver; Grant W. Graves, Director and Director of Photography; Aaron Turner, Professional Computer Programmer and Diver; Wendy Turner, Program Manager and Diver
Extension of Rulemaking: 80 FR 51173, August 24, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: October 23, 2015

4.4. United States Access Board

Subject: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines
Regulations.Gov Docket: ATBCB-2015-0002 (Docket Closed May 28, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 CFR 10879, February 27, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: May 28, 2012
Co-Signatories: Sina Bahram, Expert on Accessibility and James S. Tyre, Attorney
Final Rule: 80 FR 10879, January 18, 2017

4.5. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) (Dept. of the Interior)

Subject: Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf--Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control
Regulations.Gov Docket: BSEE-2015-0002 (Docket Closed July 16, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 31560, June 3, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: June 3, 2015
Co-Signatories: Greenpeace USA
Final Rule: April 29, 2016
Proposed Rule: November 17, 2016

4.6. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) (Dept. of Transportation)

Subject: Design Standards for Highways
Regulations.Gov Docket: FHWA-2015-0003 (Docket Closed July 2, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 31327, June 2, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: June 15, 2015
Co-Signatories: Elizabeth Deakin, Professor of City & Regional Planning, University of California at Berkeley; Kendra K. Levine, Research Library, UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies; Ruth Miller, Transportation Consultant; Ralph Nader, Lawyer; Center for Auto Safety; National Association of City Transportation Officials
Final Rule: 80 FR 61302, October 13, 2015

4.7. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) (Dept. of the Interior)

Subject: Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Update of Incorporated Cranes Standard
Regulations.Gov Docket: BSEE-2014-0002 (Docket Closed July 15, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 34113, June 15, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments:
- July 15, 2015 (Main Comment)
- July 15, 2015 (Animated GIF Attachment)
- July 15, 2015 (HTML Attachment)
- July 20, 2015 (Protest over Procedural Irregularities)
- September 9, 2015 (Answer to Protest)
Final Rule: 81 FR 46477, July 15, 2016
Final Rule: 81 FR 61833, September 7, 2016

4.8. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) (Dept. of Transportation)

Subject: Pipeline Safety: Plastic Pipe Rule
Regulations.Gov Docket: PHMSA-2014-0098 (Docket Closed July 31, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 29263, May 21, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: July 24, 2015
Co-Signatories: DeSmogBlog; Eric Ball, Resident of San Bruno; James Creech, Resident of Burlingame; James Cutsinger, First Responder, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department

4.9. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Subject: Safety Standard for Infant Bathtubs
Regulations.Gov Docket: CPSC-2015-0019 (Docket Closed October 28, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 48769, August 14, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: October 28, 2015
Final Rule: 82 FR 15615, March 30, 2017

4.10. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Subject: Garage Door Operator Safety Standard
Regulations.Gov Docket: CPSC-2015-0025 (Docket Closed November 16, 2015)
Notice of Rulemaking: 80 FR 53036, September 2, 2015
Public.Resource.Org Comments: November 16, 2015
Final Rule: April 7, 2016

4.11. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Subject: Electric Vehicle Standards
Regulations.Gov Docket: NHTSA-2011-0148
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: 78 FR 2797, January 14, 2013
Notice of Final Rulemaking: 81 FR 90416, December 14, 2016
Public.Resource.Org Comments: December 14, 2016

5. FOIA Requests for Communications with SDOs

In each case, a FOIA request is submitted asking for any communications the agency has had with private Standards Development Organizations.

5.1. Administrative Conference of the United States

FOIA Request to ACUS (June 9, 2015)
Response letter from the Administrative Conference of the United States (June 24, 2015)
Response files from ACUS (June 24, 2015)

5.2. U.S. Access Board

FOIA Request to the U.S. Access Board (June 8, 2015)
Response from the U.S. Access Board (July 2, 2015)

5.3. National Institute of Standards and Technology

FOIA Request to NIST (March 12, 2014)
Interim Response from NIST (April 30, 2014)
Response from NIST (August 27, 2014)
Final Response from NIST (November 11, 2014)

5.4. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (Dept. of the Interior)

FOIA Request to BSEE (June 8, 2015)
Status response from BSEE (June 9, 2015)
FOIA response from BSEE (July 29, 2015)

5.5. Federal Highway Administration (Dept. of Transportation)

FOIA Request to the Federal Highway Administration (June 8, 2015)
Status response from the Federal Highway Administration (June 9, 2015)
Response from the Federal Highway Administration (June 11, 2015)

5.6. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Dept. of Labor)

Request to OSHA (May 14, 2015)
Receipt of Request from OSHA (May 29, 2015)
Response to Request from OSHA (June 12, 2015)

5.7. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (Dept. of Transportation)

FOIA Request to PHMSA (June 8, 2015)
Denial of Expedited Treatment from PHMSA (June 12, 2015)
Response to Request from PHMSA (November 2, 2016)

6. FOIA Requests for Standards Incorporated by Reference

In each case, a Freedom of Information Act request is submitted asking for copies of standards that have been incorporated by reference. Public.Resource.Org is represented by Public Citizen for these requests.

6.1. U.S. Access Board

FOIA Request to U.S. Access Board (April 1, 2015)
Response from the U.S. Access Board (April 20, 2015)
Appeal to the U.S. Access Board (May 14, 2015)
Denial of Appeal from the U.S. Access Board (June 10, 2015)

6.2. Consumer Products Safety Commission

FOIA Request to U.S. CPSC (April 1, 2015)
Status Response from U.S. CPSC (April 2, 2015)
Denial from U.S. CPSC (May 18, 2015)
Appeal to the U.S. CPSC (May 28, 2015)
Denial of Appeal from U.S. CPSC (June 24, 2015)
FOIA Request to the U.S. CPSC (September 10, 2015)
Permission form for purchase of the law from the Vendor (September 10, 2015)
Denial of permission for purchase of the law from the Vendor (September 11, 2015)
Status response from U.S. CPSC (September 16, 2015)
Response from U.S. CPSC (September 23, 2015)
Appeal to the U.S. CPSC (October 2, 2015)
Interim Appeal Response from the U.S. CPSC (November 2, 2015)
Response from U.S. CPSC (January 29, 2016)
Appeal to U.S. CPSC (February 8, 2016)
Denial from U.S. CPSC (March 10, 2016)

6.3. Office of the Federal Register (National Archives and Records Administration

FOIA Response from the Office of the Federal Register (August 3, 2009)
FOIA Request to National Archives and Records Administration (April 1, 2015)
FOIA Request to Office of the Federal Register (April 1, 2015)
Response from the Office of the Federal Register (May 18, 2015)
Appeal to the Office of the Federal Register (June 9, 2015)
Status report from the Office of the Federal Register (September 29, 2015)
Denial of Appeal from the Office of the Federal Register (December 22, 2015)

6.4. Department of Housing and Urban Development

FOIA Request to HUD (April 1, 2015)
Response from HUD (June 15, 2015)
Denial of permission for purchase of the law from the Vendor (June 17, 2015)
Completed permission form for purchase of the law from the Vendor (June 18, 2015)
Permission form for purchase of the law from the Vendor (June 25, 2015)
FOIA Request to HUD (July 2, 2015)
Response from HUD (August 6, 2015)
Appeal to HUD (August 12, 2015)
Status response from HUD (August 14, 2015)
Denial from HUD (September 10, 2015)

6.5. Mine Safety and Health Administration (Dept. of Labor)

FOIA Request to MSHA (April 1, 2015)
Status Response from MSHA (April 27, 2015)
Denial from MSHA (May 5, 2015)
Appeal to the MSHA (May 28, 2015)
Receipt of Request of Appeal from MSHA June 22, 2015)

6.6. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Dept. of Labor)

FOIA Request to OSHA (April 1, 2015)
Denial from OSHA (April 30, 2015)
Appeal to OSHA (May 28, 2015)
Receipt of Appeal from OSHA (June 22, 2015)

6.7. U.S. Coast Guard (Dept. of Homeland Security)

FOIA Request to U.S. Coast Guard (April 1, 2015)
Rejection of Request from U.S. Coast Guard (July 15, 2015)
FOIA Request to U.S. Coast Guard (September 9, 2015)

6.8. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) (Dept. of Transportation)

FOIA Request to PHMSA (April 1, 2015)
Denial from PHMSA (April 16, 2015)
Appeal to PHMSA (May 5, 2015)
Denial of Right of Appeal from PHMSA (May 12, 2015)

6.9. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) (Dept. of Transportation)

FOIA Request to NHTSA (April 1, 2015)
Response from NHTSA (April 16, 2015)
Appeal to NHTSA (May 4, 2015)
Denial of Appeal from NHTSA (June 12, 2015)

7. FOIA Requests for Ethics Issues

In each case where a government official is on the board of directors of a private Standards Development Organization, a request is submitted asking for documentation about the relationship and potential conflicts of interest.

7.1. National Institute of Standards and Technology

FOIA Request to NIST (July 22, 2015)
Response from NIST August 5, 2015)
FOIA Request to NIST (August 6, 2015)
FOIA Request to the Department of Commerce (August 6, 2015)
FOIA Response from the Department of Commerce (May 16, 2016)

7.2. U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission

FOIA Request to the U.S. CPSC (July 22, 2015)
Response from U.S. CPSC (August 11, 2015)

7.3. Department of Defense

FOIA Request to the Department of Defense (July 22, 2015)
Referral from the Department of Defense (August 19, 2015)
Status response from the Department of Defense (September 25, 2015)
Response from the Department of Defense (September 28, 2015)

7.4. Department of Energy

FOIA Request to the Department of Energy (July 22, 2015)
Status response from the Department of Energy (July 31, 2015)
Response from the Department of Energy (September 8, 2015)

7.5. Environmental Protection Agency

FOIA Request to the EPA (July 22, 2015)
Status response from the EPA (July 29, 2015)
Status response from the EPA (August 8, 2015)
Final response from the EPA (April 5, 2016)

7.6. Food and Drug Administration

FOIA Request to the Food and Drug Administration (July 22, 2015)

7.7. U.S. Air Force

FOIA Request to the Air Force (July 22, 2015)
Response from the Air Force (September 8, 2015)