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Case TitlePOWER THE FUTURE v. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2024cv00465
Date Filed2024-02-19
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Amy Berman Jackson
PlaintiffPOWER THE FUTURE
Case DescriptionPower the Future submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning correspondence of four State officials in the Office of the Special Envoy on Climate Change, with a list of keywords. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Power the Future filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation - Attorney's fees

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

2024-02-191COMPLAINT against DEPARTMENT OF STATE ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-10697570) filed by POWER THE FUTURE. (Attachments: # 1 Summons Proposed to AG, US Attorney, and Defendant, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Hardin, Matthew) (Entered: 02/19/2024)
2024-02-192NOTICE of Appearance by Christopher Cochran Horner on behalf of POWER THE FUTURE (Horner, Christopher) (Entered: 02/19/2024)
2024-02-20Case Assigned to Judge Amy Berman Jackson. (zcb) (Entered: 02/20/2024)
2024-02-203SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to DEPARTMENT OF STATE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zcb) (Entered: 02/20/2024)
2024-03-214ANSWER to Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF STATE.(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 03/21/2024)
2024-03-21MINUTE ORDER. Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. The requirements of Local Civil Rule 16.3 and Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure appear to be inapplicable. Defendant must file a dispositive motion or, in the alternative, a report setting forth the schedule for the completion of its production of documents to plaintiff, on or before April 12, 2024. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 3/21/2024. (lcabj1) (Entered: 03/21/2024)
2024-04-125STATUS REPORT (Defendant's Status Report) by DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 04/12/2024)
2024-04-12MINUTE ORDER. In light of the 5 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties provide another joint status report by June 12, 2024. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 4/12/2024. (lcabj1) (Entered: 04/12/2024)
2024-06-126Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 06/12/2024)
2024-06-13MINUTE ORDER. In light of the 6 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties provide another joint status report by July 19, 2024. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 6/13/2024. (lcabj1) (Entered: 06/13/2024)
2024-07-197Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 07/19/2024)
2024-07-19MINUTE ORDER. In light of the 7 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties provide another joint status report by September 19, 2024. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 7/19/2024. (lcabj1) (Entered: 07/19/2024)
2024-08-128NOTICE of Appearance by Dedra Seibel Curteman on behalf of All Defendants (Curteman, Dedra) (Entered: 08/12/2024)
2024-08-129NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Stephen DeGenaro on behalf of All Defendants Substituting for attorney Jeremy Simon (DeGenaro, Stephen) (Entered: 08/12/2024)
2024-08-1210NOTICE OF RELATED CASE by All Defendants. Case related to Case No. 24-2070, 24-2078, 24-2120, 24-2145, 24-2149, 24-2151, 24-2168, 24-2196. (Curteman, Dedra) (Entered: 08/12/2024)
2024-08-13MINUTE ORDER. In light of the 10 Notice of Related Cases, the parties are ORDERED to inform the Court as to whether the cases should be consolidated. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 8/13/2024. (lcabj1) (Entered: 08/13/2024)
2024-08-1311RESPONSE re 10 Notice of Related Case filed by POWER THE FUTURE. (Hardin, Matthew) (Entered: 08/13/2024)
2024-08-1412RESPONSE TO ORDER OF THE COURT re Order to inform the Court as to whether the cases should be consolidated. filed by POWER THE FUTURE. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A (FOIA request at issue in this case))(Hardin, Matthew) (Entered: 08/14/2024)
2024-08-1513RESPONSE TO ORDER OF THE COURT re Order and Motion for Scheduling Order filed by DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(DeGenaro, Stephen) (Entered: 08/15/2024)
2024-08-1814RESPONSE re 13 Response to Order of the Court and Motion filed at ECF No. 13. filed by POWER THE FUTURE. (Hardin, Matthew) (Entered: 08/18/2024)
2024-08-21MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of defendant's notice of related case 10 , plaintiff's responses to the notice and the Court's minute order of August 13, 2024 11 12 , defendant's response to the minute order and motion for scheduling order 13 , and plaintiff's response to the motion 14 , it does not appear that the cases seeking records from Kitty DiMartino, 24-cv-2078 (PLF), 24-cv-2120 (ACR), 24-cv-2145 (RC), and 24-cv-2151 (TSC), bear any relationship to the instant case beyond the common requester and agency, and the searches do not appear to call for the same information. And while the other requests involve a single government official's records, they seek different types of records -- text messages, chats, and calendar entries -- and the Court has not been not advised that they involve the same search terms or subject matter at issue in the one case pending before it. If the Court had been informed that the various requests for Ms. Biniaz's records overlapped with those its case, it might conclude that it would be appropriate to treat those cases as related to this one. But given the record before it, the Court finds the cases identified in defendant's notice 10 to be unrelated to this case, and it is not apparent that they would benefit from consolidation. This order obviates defendant's motion for a scheduling order so that motion 13 is hereby DENIED as moot. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 8/21/24. (DMK) (Entered: 08/21/2024)
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