Fifth Circuit Revives Suit Over FEMA Disaster-Aid Rules: La Union v. FEMA Reversed in Part and Remanded
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a published opinion on October 22 in La Union v. FEMA, No. 24-40756. The plaintiff, La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), is a Texas-based nonprofit organization that helps low-income Texans access federal assistance following natural disasters. LUPE sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that FEMA has a policy or practice of violating the Freedom of Information Act's “reading-room provision,” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2), by relying on “secret rules” when making disaster-relief eligibility decisions, and seeking an injunction requiring FEMA to publish its Individuals and Households Program (IHP) eligibility standards in its online reading room going forward.
Writing for a panel that included Circuit Judges Southwick and Douglas, Circuit Judge Stephen A. Higginson held that LUPE has plausibly alleged that FEMA has a practice of failing to comply with FOIA's reading-room provision. The court therefore reversed, in part, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas's grant of FEMA's motion and its dismissal of the case with prejudice, and remanded for further consideration. The opinion added that whether the prospective relief LUPE requests is warranted requires additional record development, and that equitable relief lies in the sound discretion of the district court. (GSM, based on the October 22 opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 New Orleans 的美国第五巡回上诉法院大楼（资料图）。照片：Bobak Ha'Eri，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit building in New Orleans (file photo). Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
