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Case TitleLaws v. United States of America Department of Science and Technology et al
DistrictNorthern District of Illinois
CityChicago
Case Number1:2020cv02704
Date Filed2020-05-05
Date Closed2020-07-02
JudgeHonorable Virginia M. Kendall
PlaintiffReginald D Laws
Case DescriptionReginald Laws submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Energy. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Laws filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit

DefendantUnited States of America Department of Science and Technology c/o Mung Chaing
DefendantUnited States of America Department of Energy c/o Rick Perry
Documents
Docket
Complaint
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2020-04-245ORDER Third Amended General Order 20-0012 IN RE: CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PUBLIC EMERGENCY Signed by the Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on April 24, 2020. All open cases are impacted by this Third Amended General Order. Parties must carefully review all obligations under this Order, including the requirement listed in paragraph number 5 to file a joint written status report in most civil cases. See attached Order. Signed by the Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on 4/24/2020. Mailed notice (ph, ) (Entered: 05/05/2020)
2020-05-051RECEIVED Complaint and no copies by Reginald D Laws. (ph, ) (Entered: 05/05/2020)
2020-05-052CIVIL Cover Sheet. (ph, ) (Entered: 05/05/2020)
2020-05-053APPLICATION by Plaintiff Reginald D Laws for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. (ph, ) (Entered: 05/05/2020)
2020-05-054PRO SE Appearance by Plaintiff Reginald D Laws. (ph, ) (Entered: 05/05/2020)
2020-05-076NOTICE TO THE PARTIES - The Court is participating in the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot (MIDP). The key features and deadlines are set forth in this Notice which includes a link to the (MIDP) Standing Order and a Checklist for use by the parties. In cases subject to the pilot, all parties must respond to the mandatory initial discovery requests set forth in the Standing Order before initiating any further discovery in this case. Please note: The discovery obligations in the Standing Order supersede the disclosures required by Rule 26(a)(1). Any party seeking affirmative relief must serve a copy of the following documents (Notice of Mandatory Initial Discovery and the Standing Order) on each new party when the Complaint, Counterclaim, Crossclaim, or Third-Party Complaint is served. (ph, ) (Entered: 05/07/2020)
2020-05-077ORDER signed by the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 5/7/2020. Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis 3 is granted. But Plaintiff has not established that this case is ripe for judicial review, so the Complaint is dismissed without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. Plaintiff may file a renewed Complaint within 21 days of the entry of this Order in which he must describe whether he filed FOIA requests with the agencies and whether he exhausted his administrative remedies. Otherwise, this case will be summarily dismissed. See Order for further details. Mailed notice(lk, ) (Entered: 05/07/2020)
2020-05-188AMENDED complaint by Reginald D Laws against United States of America Department of Energy, United States of America Department of Science and Technology (pj, ) (Entered: 05/18/2020)
2020-05-269ORDER ORDER Fourth Amended General Order 20-0012 IN RE: CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PUBLIC EMERGENCY Signed by the Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on May 26, 2020. This Order does not extend or modify any deadlines set in civil cases. For non-emergency motions, no motion may be noticed for presentment on a date earlier than July 15, 2020. See attached Order. Signed by the Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on 5/26/2020: Mailed notice. (docket11, ) (Entered: 05/26/2020)
2020-06-1510ORDER signed by the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 6/15/2020. Given the lack of clarity about from whom Laws seeks information and about whether he has exhausted his administrative remedies, the Court dismisses the Amended Complaint 8 without prejudice for failure to establish that this Court has jurisdiction. If Law wishes to file a second Amended Complaint, he must do so within 21 days of the entry of this Order. The new Complaint must describe: 1) whether he has submitted FOIA requests, 2) to which agencies he has submitted FOIA requests, 3) whether those requests were denied, 4) whether he filed administrative appeals, and 5) the disposition of those appeals. If Laws fails to follow these instructions, the case will be dismissed with prejudice. See Order for further details. Mailed notice(lk, ) (Entered: 06/15/2020)
2020-07-0211MINUTE entry before the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall. Case is dismissed with prejudice for failure to comply with Order 10 dated 6/15/2020. Civil case terminated. Mailed notice (lk, ) (Entered: 07/02/2020)
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