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Case TitleNatural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al
DistrictSouthern District of New York
CityFoley Square
Case Number1:2018cv03712
Date Filed2018-04-26
Date Closed2019-12-18
JudgeJudge Gregory H. Woods
PlaintiffNatural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Case DescriptionThe Natural Resources Defense Council submitted a FOIA request to the Department of the Interior and a FOIA request to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for records concerning the agency's new interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. NRDC also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, NRDC filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Public Interest Fee Waiver, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantU.S. Department of the Interior
DefendantU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Documents
Docket
Complaint
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2018-04-261COMPLAINT against U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Filing Fee $ 400.00, Receipt Number 0208-14994618)Document filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc..(Marks, Nancy) (Entered: 04/26/2018)
2018-04-262CIVIL COVER SHEET filed. (Marks, Nancy) (Entered: 04/26/2018)
2018-04-263REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to U.S. Department of the Interior, re: 1 Complaint. Document filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.. (Marks, Nancy) (Entered: 04/26/2018)
2018-04-264REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, re: 1 Complaint. Document filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.. (Marks, Nancy) (Entered: 04/26/2018)
2018-04-265RULE 7.1 CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. No Corporate Parent. Document filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc..(Marks, Nancy) (Entered: 04/26/2018)
2018-04-276MOTION for Ian Fein to Appear Pro Hac Vice . Filing fee $ 200.00, receipt number 0208-14998819. Motion and supporting papers to be reviewed by Clerk's Office staff. Document filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Good Standing, # 2 Affidavit Affidavit of Ian Fein, # 3 Text of Proposed Order Proposed Order)(Fein, Ian) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-04-27>>>NOTICE REGARDING PRO HAC VICE MOTION. Regarding Document No. 6 MOTION for Ian Fein to Appear Pro Hac Vice . Filing fee $ 200.00, receipt number 0208-14998819. Motion and supporting papers to be reviewed by Clerk's Office staff. . The document has been reviewed and there are no deficiencies. (bcu) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-04-27***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING CIVIL. CASE OPENING STATISTICAL ERROR CORRECTION: Notice to attorney Nancy Sharman Marks. The following case opening statistical information was erroneously selected/entered: Jurisdiction code 3 (Federal Question). The following correction(s) have been made to your case entry: the Jurisdiction code has been modified to 2 (U.S. Government Defendant). (pc) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-04-27CASE OPENING INITIAL ASSIGNMENT NOTICE: The above-entitled action is assigned to Judge Gregory H. Woods. Please download and review the Individual Practices of the assigned District Judge, located at http://nysd.uscourts.gov/judges/District . Attorneys are responsible for providing courtesy copies to judges where their Individual Practices require such. Please download and review the ECF Rules and Instructions, located at http://nysd.uscourts.gov/ecf_filing.php . (pc) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-04-27Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger is so designated. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)(1) parties are notified that they may consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge. Parties who wish to consent may access the necessary form at the following link: http://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms.php . (pc) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-04-27Case Designated ECF. (pc) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-04-277ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to U.S. Department of the Interior. (pc) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-04-278ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (pc) (Entered: 04/27/2018)
2018-05-179AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE (FOIA CASE) of Summons and Complaint served. U.S. Department of the Interior served on 5/7/2018, answer due 6/6/2018; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service served on 5/7/2018, answer due 6/6/2018. Service was made by mail. Document filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Certified Mail Receipt and Summons Interior, # 2 Exhibit B - Certified Mail Receipt and Summons FWS, # 3 Exhibit C - Certified Mail Receipt AG, # 4 Exhibit D - Certified Mail Receipt USAO)(Fein, Ian) (Entered: 05/17/2018)
2018-05-2210ORDER granting 6 Motion for Ian Fein to Appear Pro Hac Vice. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Gregory H. Woods)(Text Only Order) (Woods, Gregory) (Entered: 05/22/2018)
2018-05-2211NOTICE OF INITIAL CONFERENCE: Initial Conference set for 6/19/2018 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 12C, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007 before Judge Gregory H. Woods. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 5/22/2018) (ne) (Entered: 05/22/2018)
2018-06-0112LETTER MOTION for Extension of Time and Adjournment of Initial Conference addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated June 1, 2018. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 06/01/2018)
2018-06-0413ORDER granting 12 Letter Motion for Extension of Time. Defendants' request for an extension of time to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint, and for an adjournment of the initial pretrial conference, Dkt. No. 12, is granted. The deadline for Defendants to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint is extended to June 20, 2018. The initial pretrial conference currently scheduled for June 19, 2018 is adjourned to July 10, 2018 at 4:50 p.m. The joint status letter described in the Court's May 22, 2018 order, Dkt. No. 11, is due no later than July 3, 2018. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Gregory H. Woods)(Text Only Order) (Woods, Gregory) (Entered: 06/04/2018)
2018-06-04Set/Reset Hearings: Initial Conference set for 7/10/2018 at 04:50 PM before Judge Gregory H. Woods. (Daniels, Anthony) (Entered: 06/04/2018)
2018-06-2014ANSWER to 1 Complaint. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 06/20/2018)
2018-06-21Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Gregory H. Woods: Telephone Conference held on 6/21/2018. (Court Reporter Jennifer Thun) (Daniels, Anthony) (Entered: 06/22/2018)
2018-07-0315JOINT LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from All Parties dated 07/03/2018 re: Initial Conference. Document filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc..(Fein, Ian) (Entered: 07/03/2018)
2018-07-10Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Gregory H. Woods: Initial Pretrial Conference held on 7/10/2018. (Court Reporter Mike McDaniels) (Daniels, Anthony) (Entered: 07/11/2018)
2018-07-1116ORDER. The production schedule discussed during the initial pretrial conference held on July 10, 2018, and agreed to by the parties, follows: the Defendants shall make their first production of responsive documents to Plaintiff no later than August 13, 2018; Defendants shall continue producing responsive documents on a rolling basis, including, but not limited to, a second production no later than September 13, 2018; and Defendants shall complete their search, processing, and production of documents no later than October 12, 2018. Defendants are ordered to produce a comprehensive Vaughn Index no later than two weeks following their final production of documents, and in no event later than October 26, 2018. The parties are ordered to submit a letter regarding the status of the case and any outstanding disputes no later than 30 days following Defendants' production of a Vaughn index, and in no event later than November 26, 2018. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Gregory H. Woods on July 11, 2018) (Text Only Order)(Woods, Gregory) (Entered: 07/11/2018)
2018-10-1017LETTER MOTION for Extension of Time to process documents responsive to FOIA requests addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated October 10, 2018. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 10/10/2018)
2018-10-1118ORDER granting 17 Letter Motion for Extension of Time. Defendants' request for an extension of time to produce responsive documents, Dkt. No. 17, is granted. Defendants shall continue producing responsive documents on a rolling basis, including, but not limited to, productions on November 12, 2018, December 12, 2018, and January 14, 2019, to the extent that the production of responsive documents is not completed before any of those dates. Defendants shall complete their search, processing, and production of documents no later than January 14, 2019. The deadline for Defendants to produce a comprehensive Vaughn Index is two weeks following their final production of documents, and in no event later than January 28, 2019. The parties are ordered to submit a letter regarding the status of the case and any outstanding disputes no later than 30 days following Defendants' production of a Vaughn index, and in no event later than February 28, 2019. The parties should not expect further extensions of these deadlines. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Gregory H. Woods)(Text Only Order) (Daniels, A.) (Entered: 10/11/2018)
2018-12-2719STANDING ORDER M10-468: The United States Attorney's Office shall notify the Court immediately upon the restoration of Department of Justice funding. (As further set forth in this Order.) (Signed by Judge Colleen McMahon on 12/27/2018) (jca) (Entered: 01/02/2019)
2018-12-27Case Stayed (jca) (Entered: 01/14/2019)
2019-01-3120ORDER. Pursuant to the Standing Order entered on December 27, 2018, this case was stayed. Dkt. 19. The stay is now lifted. As set forth in the Standing Order, all deadlines are extended by 38 days. The new deadlines are as follows: Defendants shall complete their search, processing, and production of documents no later than February 21, 2019. The deadline for Defendants to produce a comprehensive Vaughn Index is two weeks following their final production of documents, and in no event later than March 7, 2019. The parties are ordered to submit a letter regarding the status of the case and any outstanding disputes no later than 30 days following Defendants' production of a Vaughn index, and in no event later than April 7, 2019. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Gregory H. Woods on January 31, 2019) (Text Only Order)(Daniels, Anthony) (Entered: 01/31/2019)
2019-02-2021LETTER MOTION for Extension of Time addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated February 20, 2019. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 02/20/2019)
2019-02-2122ORDER granting 21 Letter Motion for Extension of Time. Application granted. Defendants shall complete their search, processing, and production of documents no later than March 1, 2019. The deadline for Defendants to produce a comprehensive Vaughn Index is two weeks following their final production of documents, and in no event later than March 15, 2019. The parties are ordered to submit a letter regarding the status of the case and any outstanding disputes no later than 30 days following Defendants' production of a Vaughn index, and in no event later than April 15, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 2/21/2019) (anc) (Entered: 02/21/2019)
2019-04-1523LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated April 15, 2019 re: Joint Status Report. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 04/15/2019)
2019-04-1624MEMO ENDORSEMENT on re: 23 Letter filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ENDORSEMENT: Application granted. The parties are directed to submit a joint status report letter no later than May 15, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 4/16/2019) (anc) (Entered: 04/16/2019)
2019-05-1525LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated May 15, 2019 re: Joint Status Report. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 05/15/2019)
2019-05-1626MEMO ENDORSEMENT on re: 25 Letter filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ENDORSEMENT: Application granted. The parties are directed to submit a joint status report letter no later than June 17, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 5/16/2019) (anc) (Entered: 05/16/2019)
2019-06-1727LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated June 17, 2019 re: Joint Status Report. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 06/17/2019)
2019-06-1828MEMO ENDORSEMENT on re: 27 Letter filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ENDORSEMENT: Application granted. The parties are directed to submit a joint status report letter no later than July 17, 2019. So Ordered. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 6/17/2019) (js) (Entered: 06/18/2019)
2019-07-1729LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated July 17, 2019 re: Status Report. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 07/17/2019)
2019-07-1730MEMO ENDORSEMENT on re: 29 Letter filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ENDORSEMENT: Application granted. The parties are directed to submit a joint status report letter no later than August 19, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 7/17/2019) (rro) Modified on 7/18/2019 (rro). (Entered: 07/18/2019)
2019-08-1931LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated August 19, 2019 re: Status Report. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 08/19/2019)
2019-08-2032MEMO ENDORSEMENT: on re: 31 Letter filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ENDORSEMENT: Application granted. The parties are directed to submit a joint status report letter no later than September 19, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 8/20/2019) (ama) (Entered: 08/20/2019)
2019-09-1933LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated September 19, 2019 re: Status Report. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 09/19/2019)
2019-09-2234MEMO ENDORSEMENT: on re: 33 Letter filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ENDORSEMENT: Application granted. The parties are directed to submit a joint status report letter no later than October 21, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 9/20/2019) (ama) (Entered: 09/22/2019)
2019-10-2135LETTER addressed to Judge Gregory H. Woods from Monica P. Folch dated October 21, 2019 re: Status Report. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 10/21/2019)
2019-10-2236MEMO ENDORSEMENT on re: 35 Letter Status Report filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ENDORSEMENT: Application granted. The parties are directed to submit a joint status report letter no later than November 21, 2019. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 10/22/19) (yv) (Entered: 10/22/2019)
2019-11-2137STATUS REPORT. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.(Folch, Monica) (Entered: 11/21/2019)
2019-12-1738PROPOSED STIPULATION AND ORDER. Document filed by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Folch, Monica) (Entered: 12/17/2019)
2019-12-1839STIPULATION AND ORDER OF SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL: IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and between the parties, as follows: The documents produced by Defendants fully resolve any and all claims Plaintiffs now have or may hereafter acquire against Defendants of the United States of America ("UnitedStates"), or any department, agency, office, or employee of Defendants or the United States, related to or arising out of Plaintiff's FOIA Requests in this action. As soon as reasonably practicable, Defendants shall pay to Plaintiff the sum of $11,650.00 (ELEVEN THOUSAND SIX-HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS) in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E), which sum Plaintiff agrees to accept in full satisfaction of any possible claim, demand or entitlement for attorneys' fees, expenses, costs, interest, and any other sums related to this litigation. This action is hereby dismissed with prejudice, and without costs or fees other than as provided in paragraph 2 of this Stipulation and Order, provided that the Court shall retain jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing this Stipulation and Order. The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case. And as set forth herein. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Gregory H. Woods on 12/18/2019) (ama) (Entered: 12/18/2019)
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