Davis-Wright-Tremaine Announced Their C-123 Veterans Association Pro Bono Legal Representation

DWT Files Suit on Behalf of Vets Who Suffered Post-War Exposure to Agent Orange  In the decade immediately following the Vietnam War, about 1,500 U.S. military reservists flew cargo and medical missions aboard C-123K aircraft—unaware that their planes they worked, ate, and slept in had been contaminated with dioxins from Agent Orange.

C-123 Veterans' Freedom of Information Act Requests Noted by The FOIA Project:

As reported in The FOIA Project:

1. THE C-123 VETERANS ASSOCIATION et al v. US DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (filed Mar 27, 2014)
   C-123 Veterans Association submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs concerning its policies on secondary exposure to Agent Orange. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing, the Association submitted an administrative appeal. The agency indicated that it had searched its records but found nothing responsive to the request. Believing that VA had misinterpreted its request, the Association filed another appeal, but finally filed suit.
   Issues: expedited proceedings, improper withholding, adequacy of search, disclosure of non-exempt records, grant fee waiver, attorney’s fees

Docket   Complaint   Complaint attachment 1  Complaint attachment 2  Complaint attachment 3  Complaint attachment 4  Complaint attachment 5  Complaint attachment 6  Complaint attachment 7  Complaint attachment 8  Complaint attachment 9

1. THE C-123 VETERANS ASSOCIATION et al v. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE (filed Mar 27, 2014)
   C-123 Veterans Association submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Air Force for records concerning its decision on the Association’s members’ exposure to Agent Orange in a “Consultative Letter.” The Association also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied the Association’s request for a fee waiver. After hearing nothing further, the Association submitted an administrative appeal. The agency indicated it would take longer to respond to the request, but the Association finally filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, disclosure of all records, attorney’s fees

Docket   Complaint   Complaint attachment 1   Complaint attachment 2   Complaint attachment 3   Complaint attachment 4  Complaint attachment 5   Complaint attachment 6      Complaint attachment 7Complaint attachment 8   Complaint attachment 9  Complaint attachment 10   Complaint attachment 11   Complaint attachment 12

C-123 Veterans Retain Law Firm of Davis Wright Tremaine in Freedom of Information Struggle

The C-123 Veterans Association has retained the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP to help us obtain documents denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs and by the US Air Force. Both agencies ignored our Freedom of Information Act Requests, or tried to assert that no such documents exist!

We've been stonewalled for years by both the VA and the AF in our search for C-123 information. Especially withheld from us have been correspondence and studies referred to in the VA's pages where VA denies any connection between our contaminated C-123K aircraft and Agent Orange illnesses.

The Freedom of Information Act requests are meant to gain access to the government's information. Actually...it is OUR information and it is our RIGHT to get it. That RIGHT has been abused by both VA and the USAF, but the team at DWT is challenging the authorities on our behalf. Can you believe it? The VA actually says on their FOIA web page "It is VA's policy to release information to the fullest extent under the law." Actually, the President encourages agencies to freely release materials without forcing citizens to resort to the FOIA requests, but both VA and USAF ignore the President's wishes as requests and abuse us on our FOIA requests.

Stay tuned for news on what we've asked, what's been released, how DWT has helped us, and the impact such official documentation has on our struggle for Agent Orange service connection from the Department of Veterans Affairs!