Case Detail

FOIA Project Annotation: Judge John Bates has ruled that while Louise Trauma Center has shown that it is entitled to attorney's fees, he reduced its request for $89,730 for attorney's fees, as well as $21,934 for fees on fees for litigating the attorney's fees issue, by 50 percent for a total of $43,895 in its litigation against the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning training of asylum and FOIA officers, as well as information about a DHS asylum research office. LTC filed suit about twelve to sixteen months after the FOIA requests were filed. After LTC initiated suit, DHS ultimately released 11 media files and 8,779 pages in whole or in part. After resolution of the remaining issues, LTC filed its motion for attorney's fees. In response, DHS contended that LTC should only be awarded $3,085.56 for fees and $1,830.40 for fees on fees. Bates first found that LTC was eligible for attorney's fees because he had granted LTC a production order. He also found that the lengthy amount of time before DHS began to respond weighed in favor of fees. Turning to whether LTC was entitled to attorney's fees, Bates indicated that LTC's requests were sufficiently capable of revealing records in the public interest. DHS argued that LTC's claim to be a non-profit organization was not accurate. But while Bates showed some qualms about LTC's claims in that regard, he observed that "LTC has made some public use of the documents it received, including sharing them online and including them in blog posts. LTC may not be very effective at sharing information it receives, but there is at least some public interest in LTC's pursuit and release of the records." As to whether DHS's position was legally reasonable, Bates noted that "however, this late assistance cannot overcome DHS's unexplained failure to begin processing the requests for more than a year after the requests were filed. Because the first and fourth factors weigh in favor of fees, and the second and third factors weigh only slightly against awarding fees, the Court finds that LTC is entitled to fees in this case." LTC's counsel, who had more than 30 years-experience as an attorney, qualified for rates of $997 an hour, even DHS agreed that his experience level qualified him in the range of $700 to $800 an hour. Bates explained that "the high rate, the result of counsel's years of experience, appears to drive up the fee demand in this case more than the hours expended, which equal just over two weeks of full-time work over one and a half years. As an initial matter, ninety hours does not seem to the Court to be patently unreasonable for a case involving eleven requests, numerous status reports, and more than 8,500 pages of disclosures, many of which were disputed between the parties." Although DHS claimed LTC should receive little or no compensation, Bates had more sympathy with LTC's billing records. However, he indicated that "approximately ninety hours expended on a case involving multiple FOIA requests over the course of two years is not a facially unreasonable amount of time to spend on this case. Moreover, it appears that counsel conducted significant amounts of properly billable work, including drafting a complaint, reviewing records produced, working with opposing counsel on joint status reports, and preparing for and appearing at hearings. Hence, it would be unfair to outright deny fees in this case." However, Bates decided to reduce the fee requests by 50 percent to account for the problems presented.
Issues: Litigation - Attorney's fees - Eligibility - Causal effect, Litigation - Attorney's fees - Entitlement - Reasonable Basis for Withholding, Litigation - Attorney's fees - Entitlement - Calculation of award

Date Filed	Doc #	Docket Text
2021-09-07	1	COMPLAINT against UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-8715898) filed by Louise Trauma Center LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons, # 3 Summons, # 4 Summons)(Cleveland, David) (Entered: 09/07/2021)
2021-09-09		Case Assigned to Judge John D. Bates. (znmg) (Entered: 09/09/2021)
2021-09-09	2	SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(znmg) (Entered: 09/09/2021)
2021-09-16	3	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 09/15/2021. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit)(Cleveland, David) (Entered: 09/16/2021)
2021-09-16	4	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY served on 9/14/2021 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit)(Cleveland, David) (Entered: 09/16/2021)
2021-10-19	5	MOTION for Extension of Time to File Defendant's Answer or Other Response to Plaintiff's Complaint by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Adebonojo, Kenneth) (Entered: 10/19/2021)
2021-10-19		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 5 defendant's motion for an extension of time to answer or otherwise respond to plaintiff's complaint, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that defendant's motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that defendant shall answer or respond by not later than November 12, 2021. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 10/19/21. (lcjdb1) (Entered: 10/19/2021)
2021-10-21		Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer due by 11/12/2021. (tb) (Entered: 10/21/2021)
2021-11-07	6	RESPONSE re 5 MOTION for Extension of Time filed by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) Modified to add link on 11/8/2021 (znmw). (Entered: 11/07/2021)
2021-11-12	7	MOTION for Extension of Time to FILE AN ANSWER OR OTHER RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Adebonojo, Kenneth) (Entered: 11/12/2021)
2021-11-12		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 7 defendant's motion to enlarge time to file an answer or other response to plaintiff's complaint, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that defendant shall answer or respond by not later than February 15, 2022. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 11/12/21. (lcjdb1) (Entered: 11/12/2021)
2021-11-16		Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer due by 2/15/2022. (tb) (Entered: 11/16/2021)
2022-02-15	8	MOTION for Extension of Time to File Defendant's Answer or Other Response to Plaintiff's Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Adebonojo, Kenneth) (Entered: 02/15/2022)
2022-02-16	9	Memorandum in opposition to re 8 MOTION for Extension of Time to File Defendant's Answer or Other Response to Plaintiff's Complaint filed by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 02/16/2022)
2022-02-16		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 8 defendant's motion to enlarge time to file an answer or otherwise respond to plaintiff's complaint, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that defendant shall answer or respond by not later than April 15, 2022. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 2/16/2022. (lcjdb1) (Entered: 02/16/2022)
2022-02-17		Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer due by 4/15/2022. (tb) (Entered: 02/17/2022)
2022-04-15	10	MOTION for Extension of Time to File Defendant's Answer or Other Response to Plaintiff's Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Adebonojo, Kenneth) (Entered: 04/15/2022)
2022-04-16	11	Memorandum in opposition to re 10 MOTION for Extension of Time to File Defendant's Answer or Other Response to Plaintiff's Complaint filed by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 04/16/2022)
2022-04-18		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 10 defendant's motion for an extension of time to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint, 11 plaintiff's opposition, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that defendant's motion is GRANTED, nunc pro tunc to April 15, 2022; it is further ORDERED that defendant shall answer or otherwise respond by not later than June 15, 2022; and it is further ORDERED that a joint status conference is hereby scheduled for June 6, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. by videoconference. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 4/18/2022. (lcjdb1) (Entered: 04/18/2022)
2022-04-19		Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Answer due by 6/15/2022. Joint Status Conference set for 6/6/2022 at 10:00 AM in Telephonic/VTC before Judge John D. Bates. (tb) (Entered: 04/19/2022)
2022-06-06		Minute Entry: Status Conference held on 6/6/2022 before Judge John D. Bates: Parties discussed production of documents. Proposed Schedule for completion of production due by 6/10/2022. Response due by 6/14/2022. (Court Reporter Lida Moreira) (tb) (Entered: 06/07/2022)
2022-06-10	12	STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Adebonojo, Kenneth) (Entered: 06/10/2022)
2022-06-12	13	REPLY re 12 Status Report filed by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 06/12/2022)
2022-06-23		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 12 defendant's status report, 13 plaintiff's reply, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall meet and confer in a further attempt to resolve their remaining differences and, by not later than July 22, 2022, shall submit a joint status report detailing specifically their respective updated positions as to each of plaintiff's requests; and it is further ORDERED that a status conference is hereby scheduled for July 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. by videoconference. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 6/23/2022. (lcjdb1) (Entered: 06/23/2022)
2022-06-27		Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Joint Status Report due by 7/22/2022. Status Conference set for 7/26/2022 at 11:00 AM in Telephonic/VTC before Judge John D. Bates. (tb) (Entered: 06/27/2022)
2022-07-21	14	STATUS REPORT by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 07/21/2022)
2022-07-22	15	STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Adebonojo, Kenneth) (Entered: 07/22/2022)
2022-07-26		Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge John D. Bates: Status Hearing held on 7/26/2022; Order to be issued by the Court. (Court Reporter Elizabeth Saint-Loth.) (ztg) (Entered: 07/26/2022)
2022-07-26	16	ORDER regarding schedule of production and briefing. See text of Order for details. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 7/26/2022. (lcjdb1) (Entered: 07/26/2022)
2022-07-27		Set/Reset Deadlines: Attorney Meet and Confer Conference due by 8/31/2022. Joint Status Report due by 10/10/2022. Summary Judgment motion due by 10/31/2022. (tb) (Entered: 07/27/2022)
2022-10-10	17	STATUS REPORT by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 10/10/2022)
2022-10-12	18	STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Adebonojo, Kenneth) (Entered: 10/12/2022)
2022-10-12		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 17 plaintiff's status report, 18 defendant's status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall submit a joint status report by not later than December 5, 2022; it is further ORDERED that such report shall address, among other things, the status of defendant's review of documents related to the fourth cause of action, and the report shall certify that the parties have met and conferred as to further search terms and custodians; it is further ORDERED that the deadline for defendant to file a motion for summary judgment is hereby STAYED; and it is further ORDERED that defendant shall file an answer or response to plaintiff's complaint by not later than December 5, 2022 unless the parties indicate in the December 5, 2022 status report that they have agreed otherwise. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 10/12/2022. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 10/12/2022)
2022-10-12		Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 12/5/2022; Defendant shall file an answer or response to plaintiff's complaint by 12/5/2022 unless the parties indicate in the 12/5/2022 Joint Status Report that they have agreed otherwise. (jth) (Entered: 10/12/2022)
2022-10-31	19	NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Sam Escher on behalf of DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Substituting for attorney Kenneth A. Adebonojo (Escher, Sam) (Entered: 10/31/2022)
2022-12-05	20	Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Escher, Sam) (Entered: 12/05/2022)
2022-12-09		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 20 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report by not later than January 18, 2023; and it is further ORDERED that in the report, defendant shall provide a more detailed update on the status of its response to each request, including an estimated timeline for any outstanding review and production. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 12/9/2022. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 12/09/2022)
2022-12-14		Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 1/18/2023. (tb) (Entered: 12/14/2022)
2023-01-18	21	Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Escher, Sam) (Entered: 01/18/2023)
2023-01-18		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 21 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report by not later than March 20, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 1/18/2023. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 01/18/2023)
2023-01-24		ENTERED IN ERROR.....Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 4/17/2023. (tb) Modified on 1/24/2023 (tb). (Entered: 01/24/2023)
2023-01-24		Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 3/20/2023. (tb) (Entered: 01/24/2023)
2023-03-20	22	STATUS REPORT by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 03/20/2023)
2023-03-20		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 22 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall confer about the remaining two requests and, by not later than April 24, 2023, submit a joint status report informing the Court that they have reached an agreement on the scope of defendant's searches or a proposed briefing schedule for defendant's motion for summary judgment. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 3/20/2023. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 03/20/2023)
2023-03-24		Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 4/24/2023. (tb) (Entered: 03/24/2023)
2023-04-24	23	Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Escher, Sam) (Entered: 04/24/2023)
2023-04-25		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 23 the joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file another joint status report by not later than June 22, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 4/25/2023. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 04/25/2023)
2023-04-27		Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 6/22/2023. (tb) (Entered: 04/27/2023)
2023-06-20	24	Joint STATUS REPORT by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 06/20/2023)
2023-06-21		MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 24 the parties' joint status report, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint report by not later than July 6, 2023 proposing a summary judgment briefing schedule. If the parties are unable to agree on a joint schedule, the report should include each party's proposed schedule. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 6/21/2023. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 06/21/2023)
2023-06-21		Set/Reset Deadlines: Status Report due by 7/6/2023 (zjch, ) (Entered: 06/22/2023)
2023-07-06	25	Joint STATUS REPORT by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 07/06/2023)
2023-07-11	26	SCHEDULING ORDER. See text of Order for details. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 7/11/2023. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 07/11/2023)
2023-07-13		Set/Reset Deadlines: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment due by 8/18/2023; Plaintiff's Response in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment due by 9/1/2023; Defendant's Reply in Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and Defendant's Response in Opposition to Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment due by 9/15/2023; Plaintiff's Reply in Support of Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment due by 9/29/2023. (kk) (Entered: 07/13/2023)
2023-08-14	27	MOTION for Summary Judgment by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts, # 2 Panter Declaration, # 3 Exhibits, # 4 USCIS RAIO Research Unit SOP, # 5 Text of Proposed Order)(Escher, Sam) (Entered: 08/14/2023)
2023-08-23	28	RESPONSE re 27 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts)(Cleveland, David) (Entered: 08/23/2023)
2023-08-23	29	Cross MOTION for Summary Judgment by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts)(Cleveland, David) (Entered: 08/23/2023)
2023-09-15	30	REPLY to opposition to motion re 27 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Attachments: # 1 Response to Plaintiff's Statement of Facts, # 2 Second Declaration of Panter, # 3 Emails to Plaintiff (May 15 and 26, 2023), # 4 Maryland Letter Order)(Escher, Sam) (Entered: 09/15/2023)
2023-09-15	31	Memorandum in opposition to re 29 Motion for Summary Judgment filed by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Attachments: # 1 Response to Plaintiff's Statement of Facts, # 2 Second Panter Declaration, # 3 Emails to Plaintiff (May 15 and 26, 2023), # 4 Maryland Letter Order)(Escher, Sam) Modified on 9/19/2023 (zjm). Modified on 9/25/2023 to remove error(zjm). (Entered: 09/15/2023)
2023-09-19		NOTICE OF ERROR regarding 31 Memorandum in Opposition,. The following error(s) need correction: Incorrect event. Duplicate of entry 30 . Please refile. (zjm) (Entered: 09/19/2023)
2023-09-20	32	ERRATA by DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY re 31 Memorandum in Opposition,. (Escher, Sam) (Entered: 09/20/2023)
2023-09-20	33	REPLY to opposition to motion re 29 Cross MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Cleveland, David) (Entered: 09/20/2023)
2024-02-20	34	ORDER granting 27 defendant's motion for summary judgment and denying 29 plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 2/20/2024. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 02/20/2024)
2024-02-20	35	MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge John D. Bates on 2/20/2024. (lcjdb3) (Entered: 02/20/2024)
2024-02-28	36	MOTION for Attorney Fees by LOUISE TRAUMA CENTER LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit)(Cleveland, David) (Entered: 02/28/2024)
2024-02-28	37	NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Joseph F. Carilli, Jr on behalf of All Defendants Substituting for attorney Sam Escher (Carilli, Joseph) (Entered: 02/28/2024)
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