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Case TitleAMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2023cv00391
Date Filed2023-02-10
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
PlaintiffAMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION
Case DescriptionAmerica First Legal Foundation submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice for records concerning a number of issues. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests and classified them as complex for processing purposes. AFL protested that designation and narrowed the scope of some requests. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AFL filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Fees, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
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User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2023-02-101COMPLAINT against UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-9854688) filed by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit, # 6 Exhibit, # 7 Exhibit, # 8 Exhibit, # 9 Exhibit, # 10 Exhibit, # 11 Exhibit, # 12 Exhibit, # 13 Exhibit, # 14 Exhibit, # 15 Exhibit, # 16 Exhibit, # 17 Exhibit, # 18 Exhibit, # 19 Exhibit, # 20 Exhibit, # 21 Exhibit, # 22 Exhibit, # 23 Exhibit, # 24 Exhibit, # 25 Civil Cover Sheet, # 26 Summons)(Block, Andrew) (Entered: 02/10/2023)
2023-02-13NOTICE OF ERROR re 1 Complaint; emailed to andrew.block@aflegal.org, cc'd 1 associated attorneys -- The PDF file you docketed contained errors: 1. Missing/incorrect summonses. Please submit using the event Request for Summons to issue., 2. FOIA summons' required. (cb, ) (Entered: 02/13/2023)
2023-02-132REQUEST FOR SUMMONS TO ISSUE filed by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION.(Block, Andrew) (Entered: 02/13/2023)
2023-02-13Case Assigned to Judge Randolph D. Moss. (zcb) (Entered: 02/13/2023)
2023-02-133SUMMONS (2) Issued Electronically as to All Defendants, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zcb) (Entered: 02/13/2023)
2023-02-134NOTICE of Appearance by Michael Ding on behalf of AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION (Ding, Michael) (Entered: 02/13/2023)
2023-02-135STANDING ORDER: The parties are hereby ORDERED to comply with the directives set forth in the attached Standing Order. See document for details. Signed by Judge Randolph D. Moss on 2/13/2023. (lcrdm1) (Entered: 02/13/2023)
2023-02-216RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 2/14/2023. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 3/16/2023. (Block, Andrew) (Entered: 02/21/2023)
2023-03-087NOTICE of Appearance by Marcia Kay Sowles on behalf of UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 03/08/2023)
2023-03-088Unopposed MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 03/08/2023)
2023-03-08MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of Defendant's unopposed motion for extension of time to file answer, Dkt. 8 , it is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED. Defendants shall respond to the complaint on or before April 7, 2023. Signed by Judge Randolph D. Moss on 3/8/2023. (lcrdm1) (Entered: 03/08/2023)
2023-03-309RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 02/27/2023. (Ding, Michael) (Entered: 03/30/2023)
2023-04-0710ANSWER to Complaint by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.(Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 04/07/2023)
2023-04-08MINUTE ORDER: It is ORDERED that, on or before May 12, 2023, the parties shall confer and file a joint status report addressing (1) any documents still to be produced pursuant to FOIA; (2) an anticipated schedule for processing and producing any such documents; and (3) any substantive areas of disagreement between the parties. It is further ORDERED that the parties shall appear by video for an Initial Scheduling Conference to be held via Zoom on May 19, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. Signed by Judge Randolph D. Moss on 4/8/2023. (lcrdm1) (Entered: 04/08/2023)
2023-05-1211Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 05/12/2023)
2023-05-14MINUTE ORDER: Upon consideration of the parties' joint status report, Dkt. 11 , it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report on or before June 23, 2023. Signed by Judge Randolph D. Moss on 5/14/2023. (lcrdm1) (Entered: 05/14/2023)
2023-05-18MINUTE ORDER: It is hereby ORDERED that the initial scheduling conference currently scheduled for May 19, 2023, is VACATED. Signed by Judge Randolph D. Moss on 5/18/2023. (lcrdm1) (Entered: 05/18/2023)
2023-06-2312Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 06/23/2023)
2023-06-2813Case randomly reassigned to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Judge Randolph D. Moss is no longer assigned to the case. (ztnr) (Entered: 06/29/2023)
2023-07-06MINUTE ORDER. The Court is in receipt of the 12 Joint Status Report, in which the Defendant indicates that they continue to search for and process various records that may be responsive to Plaintiff's FOIA request. Per the parties' suggestion, the Court ORDERS the parties to file a Joint Status Report on AUGUST 22, 2023 and every sixty (60) days thereafter providing an update. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 7/6/23. (lcckk3) (Entered: 07/06/2023)
2023-07-0614ORDER ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 7/6/23. (DM) (Entered: 07/06/2023)
2023-07-06Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 8/22/2023 and every sixty (60) days thereafter providing an update. (dot) (Entered: 07/09/2023)
2023-08-2215Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 08/22/2023)
2023-10-2316Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 10/23/2023)
2023-12-2217Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 12/22/2023)
2024-02-2218Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 02/22/2024)
2024-04-29MINUTE ORDER. By Minute Order on July 6, 2023, the Court ordered the parties to file a Joint Status Report on August 22, 2023 and every sixty days thereafter providing an update on the Plaintiff's FOIA request. The parties have filed four Joint Status Reports, see ECF Nos. 15, 16, 17, 18, in the latest of which, filed on February 22, 2024, they confirmed that they would be filing their next report on April 22, 2024. However, that date has passed with no such filing. The Court ORDERS the parties to file a Joint Status Report by MAY 3, 2024 and every sixty (60) days thereafter providing an update. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 4/29/24. (lcckk3) (Entered: 04/29/2024)
2024-04-30Set/Reset Deadlines: Status Report due by 5/3/2024, and every sixty (60) days thereafter providing an update. (dot) (Entered: 04/30/2024)
2024-05-0219Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 05/02/2024)
2024-07-0220Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 07/02/2024)
2024-09-0321Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 09/03/2024)
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