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Case TitleCAPUTI v. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2023cv03582
Date Filed2023-12-01
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Beryl A. Howell
PlaintiffROSS CAPUTI
Case DescriptionRoss Caputi submitted two FOIA requests to the Department of Defense for records concerning the U.S. military action in Fallujah, Iraq. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. Aft4er hearing nothing further from the agency, Caputi filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

Defendant2255
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DefendantDEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2023-12-011COMPLAINT against DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-10531982) filed by Ross Caputi. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons)(Quaranto, Lance) (Attachment 1 replaced on 12/5/2023) (zcb). (Entered: 12/01/2023)
2023-12-05Case Assigned to Judge Beryl A. Howell. (zcb) (Entered: 12/05/2023)
2023-12-052SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zcb) (Entered: 12/05/2023)
2023-12-073STANDING ORDER. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on December 7, 2023. (lcbah1) (Entered: 12/07/2023)
2024-01-164Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer re 1 Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 01/16/2024)
2024-01-17MINUTE ORDER (paperless) GRANTING defendant's 4 Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to the Complaint, and DIRECTING defendant, by February 15, 2024, to answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on January 17, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 01/17/2024)
2024-01-175NOTICE of Appearance by Daniel J. Stotter on behalf of ROSS CAPUTI (Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 01/17/2024)
2024-01-18Set/Reset Deadlines: Defendant Answer Or Otherwise Response To The Complaint due by 2/15/2024. (mac) (Entered: 01/18/2024)
2024-02-126Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer re 1 Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 02/12/2024)
2024-02-12MINUTE ORDER (paperless) GRANTING defendant's 6 Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to the Complaint, and DIRECTING defendant, by March 18, 2024, to answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on February 12, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 02/12/2024)
2024-02-13Set/Reset Deadlines: Defendant Answer Or Otherwise Response To The Complaint due by 3/18/2024. (mac) (Entered: 02/13/2024)
2024-03-187ANSWER to Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.(Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 03/18/2024)
2024-04-088Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 04/08/2024)
2024-04-11MINUTE ORDER (paperless) DIRECTING the parties, upon consideration of their 8 Joint Status Report, to file, by June 4, 2024, a joint status report, advising the Court of the status of this matter. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on April 11, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 04/11/2024)
2024-04-12Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 6/4/2024. (zalh) (Entered: 04/12/2024)
2024-06-049Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 06/04/2024)
2024-06-05MINUTE ORDER (paperless) DIRECTING the parties, upon consideration of their 9 Joint Status Report, to file, by August 6, 2024, a joint status report, advising the Court of the status of this matter. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on June 5, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 06/05/2024)
2024-06-06Set/Reset Deadlines: Parties Joint Status Report due by 8/6/2024. (mac) (Entered: 06/06/2024)
2024-08-0610Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 08/06/2024)
2024-08-07MINUTE ORDER (paperless) DIRECTING the parties, upon consideration of their 10 Joint Status Report, to file, by October 7, 2024, a joint status report, advising the Court of the status of this matter and proposing a production schedule for any responsive records. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on August 7, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 08/07/2024)
2024-08-08Set/Reset Deadlines: Parties Joint Status Report due by 10/7/2024. (mac) (Entered: 08/08/2024)
2024-10-0411Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 10/04/2024)
2024-10-10MINUTE ORDER (paperless) GRANTING defendant's 11 Consent Motion for an Extension of Time; and DIRECTING the parties to file by October 18, 2024, a joint status report, advising the Court on the status of this matter. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on October 10, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 10/10/2024)
2024-10-11Set/Reset Deadlines: Parties Joint Status Report due by 10/18/2024. (mac) (Entered: 10/11/2024)
2024-10-1312Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 10/13/2024)
2024-10-22MINUTE ORDER (paperless) GRANTING defendant's 12 Consent Motion for Extension of Time; and DIRECTING the parties to file a joint status report by October 25, 2024, advising the Court on the status of this matter. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on October 22, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 10/22/2024)
2024-10-23Set/Reset Deadlines: Parties Joint Status Report due by 10/25/2024 (mac) (Entered: 10/23/2024)
2024-10-2513Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 10/25/2024)
2024-10-25MINUTE ORDER (paperless), upon consideration of the parties' 13 Joint Status Report, DIRECTING the parties to submit a joint status report by January 3, 2025, advising the Court on the status of this matter. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on October 25, 2024. (lcbah1) (Entered: 10/25/2024)
2024-10-28Set/Reset Deadlines: Parties Joint Status Report due by 1/3/2025. (mac) (Entered: 10/28/2024)
2025-01-0314Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 01/03/2025)
2025-01-06MINUTE ORDER (paperless), upon consideration of the parties' 14 Joint Status Report, DIRECTING the parties to file a joint status report by February 18, 2025, advising the Court of the status of this matter. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on January 6, 2025. (lcbah1) (Entered: 01/06/2025)
2025-01-07Set/Reset Deadlines: Parties Joint Status Report due by 2/18/2025. (mac) (Entered: 01/07/2025)
2025-02-1815STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 02/18/2025)
2025-02-19MINUTE ORDER (paperless), upon consideration of the defendant's 15 Status Report indicating that the parties' efforts to narrow the FOIA request at issue has had limited success and would still require processing over a period of up to three years, DIRECTING that (a) by March 28, 2025, plaintiff file a status report explaining (i) the failure to respond timely to defendant's inquiries in order for a joint status report to be submitted, in accordance with the Court's order, and (ii) why further narrowing of the FOIA request to reduce the processing time is not possible; and (b) by May 2, 2025, the parties file a joint status report that includes a description as what aspects of the search, i.e., locations, terms, scope, etc., are generating the most volumes of responsive records with the result that the processing may take up to three years and identifies suggestions for narrowing the search that have been rejected by plaintiff. Signed by Judge Beryl A. Howell on February 19, 2025. (lcbah1) (Entered: 02/19/2025)
2025-02-20Set/Reset Deadlines: Plaintiff Status Report due by 3/28/2025. Parties Joint Status Report due by 5/2/2025. (mac) (Entered: 02/20/2025)
2025-02-2816NOTICE of Appearance by Charles Woodward, IV on behalf of ROSS CAPUTI (Woodward, Charles) (Entered: 02/28/2025)
2025-03-0317NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Lance Quaranto on behalf of ROSS CAPUTI Substituting for attorney Lance Quaranto (Quaranto, Lance) (Entered: 03/03/2025)
2025-03-03RESOLVED.....NOTICE of Provisional/Government Not Certified Status re 17 NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Lance Quaranto on behalf of ROSS CAPUTI Substituting for attorney Lance Quaranto (Quaranto, Lance). Your attorney renewal/government certification has not been received. As a result, your membership with the U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia is not in good standing, and you are not permitted to file. Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 83.9, you must immediately correct your membership status by following the appropriate instructions on this page of our website: https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/attorney-renewal. Please be advised that the presiding judge in this case has been notified that you are currently not in good standing to file in this court. Renewal Due by 3/10/2025. (zhcn) Modified on 3/5/2025 (zhcn). (Entered: 03/04/2025)
2025-03-1818STATUS REPORT by ROSS CAPUTI. (Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 03/18/2025)
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