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Case TitleAMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2022cv03386
Date Filed2022-11-04
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Jia M. Cobb
PlaintiffAMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION
Case DescriptionAmerica First Legal Foundation submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records relating to its Global Engagement Center, records relating to the Ukraine conflict, and communications between certain State Department employees and specific private entities. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AFL filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Vaughn index, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
Complaint attachment 5
Complaint attachment 6
Complaint attachment 7
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2022-11-041COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-9650028) filed by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Civil Cover Sheet, # 5 Summons, # 6 Summons, # 7 Summons)(Ding, Michael) (Entered: 11/04/2022)
2022-11-042LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION (Ding, Michael) (Entered: 11/04/2022)
2022-11-07Case Assigned to Judge Jia M. Cobb. (zmrl) (Entered: 11/07/2022)
2022-11-073SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zmrl) (Entered: 11/07/2022)
2022-11-074ENTERED IN ERROR.....SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zljn) Modified on 11/7/2022 (zljn). (Entered: 11/07/2022)
2022-11-185RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 11/14/2022. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 12/14/2022. (Attachments: # 1 Supplement)(Ding, Michael) (Entered: 11/18/2022)
2022-11-186RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 11/15/2022. (Attachments: # 1 Supplement)(Ding, Michael) (Entered: 11/18/2022)
2022-12-057RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE served on 11/28/2022 (Attachments: # 1 Supplement)(Ding, Michael) (Entered: 12/05/2022)
2022-12-148NOTICE of Appearance by Kevin Bell on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 12/14/2022)
2022-12-149ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE.(Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 12/14/2022)
2022-12-15MINUTE ORDER: The Court ORDERS that the Parties confer and submit a joint proposed schedule for further proceedings, which shall include a proposed schedule for the processing and release of responsive records or for briefing dispositive motions, by December 29, 2022. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on December 15, 2022. (lcjmc2) (Entered: 12/15/2022)
2022-12-2910Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 12/29/2022)
2023-01-18MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of 10 Joint Status Report, the Court directs the Parties to appear for a Status Conference on January 26, 2023, at 11:30 AM. The Status Conference will be on the record and conducted via Zoom. The Court's Deputy Clerk will provide the information necessary to access the conference. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on January 18, 2023. (lcjmc2) (Entered: 01/18/2023)
2023-01-26Minute Entry for Status Conference proceeding held on 1/26/2023 before Judge Jia M. Cobb. Status Report due by 3/13/2023. Scheduling order forthcoming via Chambers. (Court Reporter: Stacy Heavenridge) (zgf) (Entered: 01/26/2023)
2023-02-1411ORDER: See Order for details. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on February 14, 2023. (lcjmc2) (Entered: 02/14/2023)
2023-03-1312Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 03/13/2023)
2023-03-28MINUTE ORDER: The Court has reviewed 12 Joint Status Report. Upon consideration of the Parties' positions, the Court ORDERS that the 500 page per month processing rate ordered in 11 Scheduling Order remain in place. To clarify, the processing rate shall include the periodic news clips that are the subject of a narrowing agreement between the Parties. The Court arrived at this conclusion based upon Defendant's representation that it cannot exclude the news clips from the universe of documents that it is reviewing and processing, and that it is still required to process and review documents that may contain the news clips for other responsive material. Nor does the Court find from the information before it that proceeding in this fashion will cause an unreasonable delay in the production of responsive materials in this case. This order is without prejudice for Plaintiff to request that the Court revisit this ruling or the processing rate if it contends that this procedure has caused unnecessary delays. The Court further ORDERS the Parties to submit a joint status report by June 12, 2023. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on March 28, 2023. (lcjmc2) (Entered: 03/28/2023)
2023-06-1213Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 06/12/2023)
2023-07-1314NOTICE of Appearance by Pardis Gheibi on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (Gheibi, Pardis) (Entered: 07/13/2023)
2023-09-1115Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Gheibi, Pardis) (Entered: 09/11/2023)
2023-12-1116Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Gheibi, Pardis) (Entered: 12/11/2023)
2024-03-1117Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 03/11/2024)
2024-06-1018Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 06/10/2024)
2024-09-0919Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 09/09/2024)
2024-12-1020Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 12/10/2024)
2024-12-1021Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 12/10/2024)
2024-12-12MINUTE ORDER granting 20 Consent Motion for Extension of Time: Having considered the motion, and for good cause shown, the Court GRANTS the motion nunc pro tunc . The parties' 21 Joint Status Report is accepted as filed. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on December 12, 2024. (lcjmc2) (Entered: 12/12/2024)
2025-03-0722Notice of Substitution by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Scolinos, William) Modified docket text on 3/12/2025 (zdp) (Entered: 03/07/2025)
2025-03-1023Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Bell, Kevin) (Entered: 03/10/2025)
2025-03-1024NOTICE of Appearance by Andrew Block on behalf of AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION (Block, Andrew) (Main Document 24 replaced on 3/11/2025) (zdp). (Entered: 03/10/2025)
2025-05-0125NOTICE of Appearance by Pierce Anon on behalf of All Defendants (Anon, Pierce) (Entered: 05/01/2025)
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