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Case TitleJUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2019cv03809
Date Filed2019-12-23
Date Closed2023-04-10
JudgeJudge Timothy J. Kelly
PlaintiffJUDICIAL WATCH, INC.
Case DescriptionJudicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning communications between former FBI employees Peter Strzok, Lia Page, or Andrew McCabe, and CIA official Eric Ciaramella. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. Judicial Watch submitted a second FOIA request to the Department of Justice for communications between any employees of the Office of Special Counsel and CIA official Eric Ciaramella. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told Judicial Watch that it qualified for unusual circumstances. After hearing nothing further from the agency pertaining to either request, Judicial Watch filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Vaughn index, Litigation - Attorney's fees

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

2019-12-231COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number ADCDC-6671287) filed by JUDICIAL WATCH, INC.. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, # 3 Summons U.S. Attorney General, # 4 Summons U.S. Department of Justice)(Bekesha, Michael) (Entered: 12/23/2019)
2019-12-232LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. (Bekesha, Michael) (Entered: 12/23/2019)
2019-12-26Case assigned to Judge Trevor N. McFadden. (zmc) (Entered: 12/26/2019)
2019-12-263SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zmc) (Entered: 12/26/2019)
2019-12-264STANDING ORDER Establishing Procedures for Cases Before Judge Trevor N. McFadden. The parties are hereby ORDERED to read and comply with the directives in the attached standing order. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 12/26/2019. (lctnm1) (Entered: 12/26/2019)
2020-01-215RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 1/3/2020. ( Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 2/2/2020.), RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 1/6/2020., RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE served on 1/21/2020 (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of Cristina Rotaru)(Orfanedes, Paul) (Entered: 01/21/2020)
2020-02-036ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.(Tulis, Elizabeth) (Entered: 02/03/2020)
2020-02-04MINUTE ORDER. Before the Court are a complaint and an answer in this FOIA case. It is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall meet and confer and file a Joint Status Report proposing a schedule for proceeding in this matter. The schedule should address, among other things, the status of Plaintiff's FOIA request, the anticipated number of documents responsive to Plaintiff's FOIA request, the anticipated date(s) for release of the documents requested by Plaintiff, whether a motion for an Open America stay is likely in this case, whether a Vaughn index will be required in this case, and a briefing schedule for dispositive motions, if required. The parties shall file the Joint Status Report on or before February 28, 2020. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 2/4/2020. (lctnm3) (Entered: 02/04/2020)
2020-02-04Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 2/28/2020. (hmc) (Entered: 02/04/2020)
2020-02-287Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Tulis, Elizabeth) (Entered: 02/28/2020)
2020-03-02MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' 7 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file another Joint Status Report within 10 days of Judge Kelly's ruling on the Defendants' proposed motion to consolidate in Case No. 19-cv-3807. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 3/2/2020. (lctnm3) (Entered: 03/02/2020)
2020-03-138NOTICE of Filing of Motion to Consolidate Cases 19-cv-3807 and 19-cv-3809 by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - Motion to Consolidate Cases)(Tulis, Elizabeth) (Entered: 03/13/2020)
2020-04-029Case reassigned to Judge Timothy J. Kelly as related. Judge Trevor N. McFadden is no longer assigned to the case. (rj) (Entered: 04/02/2020)
2020-04-02Cases Consolidated. Case 19cv3809 has been consolidated with case 19cv3807, pursuant to an Order entered on 4/2/2020. From this date forward, all pleadings shall be filed ONLY in the lead/earlier case, Civil Action No. 19-3807. The parties are advised NOT to elect the SPREAD TEXT option when filing in ECF, as this will result in repetitive docketing and emails. (ztth) (Entered: 04/02/2020)
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by FOIA Project Staff
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