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Case TitleAMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR et al
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2017cv00958
Date Filed2017-05-22
Date Closed2017-10-10
JudgeJudge Reggie B. Walton
PlaintiffAMERICAN OVERSIGHT
Case DescriptionAmerican Oversight submitted FOIA requests to the Department of the Interior and seven other cabinet-level departments for records concerning the number of political appointees as well as the number of career employees elevated to leadership roles since the beginning of the Trump administration. All the agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests. The EPA provided a partial response. After hearing nothing further from the agencies, American Oversight filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
DefendantU.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Documents
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
Complaint attachment 10
Complaint attachment 11
Complaint attachment 12
Complaint attachment 13
Complaint attachment 14
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2017-05-221COMPLAINT against All Defendants ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-4960879) filed by AMERICAN OVERSIGHT. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Civil Cover Sheet, # 5 Summons, # 6 Summons, # 7 Summons, # 8 Summons, # 9 Summons, # 10 Summons, # 11 Summons, # 12 Summons, # 13 Summons, # 14 Summons)(Creighton, Sara) (Entered: 05/22/2017)
2017-05-222LCvR 7.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by AMERICAN OVERSIGHT (Creighton, Sara) (Entered: 05/22/2017)
2017-05-23Case Assigned to Judge Reggie B. Walton. (zsb) (Entered: 05/23/2017)
2017-05-233SUMMONS (10) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Consent Form)(zsb) (Entered: 05/23/2017)
2017-06-084RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 5/30/2017. ( Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 6/29/2017.), RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE served on 5/26/2017; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE served on 5/26/2017; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY served on 5/26/2017; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES served on 5/26/2017; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR served on 5/26/2017; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY served on 5/30/2017; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS served on 5/30/2017; U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY served on 5/26/2017, RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 05/30/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Creighton, Sara) (Entered: 06/08/2017)
2017-06-125GENERAL ORDER FOR CIVIL CASES BEFORE THE HONORABLE REGGIE B. WALTON. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on June 12, 2017. (lcrbw2) (Entered: 06/12/2017)
2017-06-126NOTICE of Appearance by Marina Utgoff Braswell on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (Braswell, Marina) (Entered: 06/12/2017)
2017-06-237NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF APPEARANCE as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. Attorney Marina Utgoff Braswell terminated. (Braswell, Marina) (Entered: 06/23/2017)
2017-06-298ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.(Merritt, Robert) (Entered: 06/29/2017)
2017-06-30MINUTE ORDER. To ensure the expeditious resolution of this action, and because this qualifies as an exempted case under Local Civil Rule 16.3(b), it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint proposed briefing schedule governing the production of requested documents and the filing of dispositive motions on or before July 21, 2017. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on June 30, 2017. (lcrbw2) (Entered: 06/30/2017)
2017-06-30Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Proposed Briefing Schedule due by 7/21/2017 (hs) (Entered: 06/30/2017)
2017-07-219Joint STATUS REPORT by AMERICAN OVERSIGHT. (Creighton, Sara) (Entered: 07/21/2017)
2017-07-24MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' Joint Status Report, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file an additional joint status report providing the Court with an update on the status of this case and the productions of responsive documents on or before September 7, 2017. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on July 24, 2017. (lcrbw2) (Entered: 07/24/2017)
2017-07-25Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 9/7/2017 (hs) (Entered: 07/25/2017)
2017-09-0710Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (Merritt, Robert) (Entered: 09/07/2017)
2017-09-08MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' Joint Status Report, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that the government shall conclude its production on or before September 15, 2017. It is further ORDERED that the parties shall file on or before September 21, 2017, an additional status report providing the Court with a summary of any outstanding issues, an assessment of whether summary judgment briefing will be necessary, and, if required, a joint proposed briefing schedule. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on September 8, 2017. (lcrbw3) (Entered: 09/08/2017)
2017-09-08Set/Reset Deadlines: joint Status Report due by 9/21/2017 (hs) (Entered: 09/08/2017)
2017-09-2111Joint STATUS REPORT by AMERICAN OVERSIGHT. (Creighton, Sara) (Entered: 09/21/2017)
2017-09-21MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' Joint Status Report, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file on or before October 5, 2017, an additional status report providing the Court with a summary of any outstanding issues, an assessment of whether summary judgment briefing will be required, and, if necessary, a joint proposed briefing schedule. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on September 21, 2017. (lcrbw3) (Entered: 09/21/2017)
2017-09-21Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 10/5/2017 (hs) (Entered: 09/21/2017)
2017-10-0512STIPULATION of Dismissal by AMERICAN OVERSIGHT. (Creighton, Sara) (Entered: 10/05/2017)
2017-10-10MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' Joint Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. It is further ORDERED that this case is CLOSED. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on October 10, 2017. (lcrbw3) (Entered: 10/10/2017)
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by FOIA Project Staff
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