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Case TitleTOBIAS v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR et al
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2021cv00283
Date Filed2021-01-29
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Christopher R. Cooper
PlaintiffJIMMY TOBIAS
Case DescriptionJimmy Tobias, an independent reporter submitted multiple requests to the Department of the Interior for records on a variety of topics. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Tobias filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
DefendantU.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
Complaint attachment 5
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2021-01-291COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-8142886) filed by JIMMY TOBIAS. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1-10, # 2 Exhibit 11-20, # 3 Exhibit 21-31, # 4 Civil Cover Sheet, # 5 Summons)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 01/29/2021)
2021-01-292NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Topic on behalf of JIMMY TOBIAS (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 01/29/2021)
2021-02-01Case Assigned to Judge Christopher R. Cooper. (adh, ) (Entered: 02/01/2021)
2021-02-013SUMMONS (4) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(adh, ) (Entered: 02/01/2021)
2021-03-154NOTICE of Appearance by Derek S. Hammond on behalf of All Defendants (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 03/15/2021)
2021-03-155ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.(Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 03/15/2021)
2021-04-056RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR served on 2/11/2021 (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 04/05/2021)
2021-04-057RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE served on 2/21/2021 (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 04/05/2021)
2021-04-058RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 2/12/2021. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 04/05/2021)
2021-04-059RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 2/12/2021. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 3/14/2021. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 04/05/2021)
2021-04-08MINUTE ORDER: Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. It is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall promptly confer and file a joint proposed schedule for briefing or disclosure by April 22, 2021. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 4/8/2021. (lccrc1) (Entered: 04/08/2021)
2021-04-2210Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 04/22/2021)
2021-04-23MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 10 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further status report by June 22, 2021. Given the large volume of records recovered by Defendants' searches, the Court expects the parties to engage in meaningful efforts to narrow the requests and to report on the specific results of these efforts in the forthcoming status report. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 4/23/2021. (lccrc1) (Entered: 04/23/2021)
2021-04-23Set/Reset Deadlines: Status Report due by 6/22/2021. (znbn) (Entered: 04/26/2021)
2021-06-2211Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 06/22/2021)
2021-06-29MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 11 Joint Status Report, the parties are hereby ORDERED to file a further joint status report by August 22, 2021, indicating the volume of potentially responsive documents and estimating processing times. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 6/29/2021. (lccrc1) (Entered: 06/29/2021)
2021-08-2312Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 08/23/2021)
2021-10-25MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 12 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further status report by November 22, 2021. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/25/2021. (lccrc1) (Entered: 10/25/2021)
2021-10-25Set/Reset Deadlines: Status Report due by 11/22/2021. (znbn) (Entered: 10/25/2021)
2021-11-2213Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 11/22/2021)
2021-11-22MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 13 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further status report by January 24, 2022. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 11/22/2021. (lccrc1) (Entered: 11/22/2021)
2022-01-2414Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 01/24/2022)
2022-01-26MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 14 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further status report by March 24, 2022. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 1/26/2022. (lccrc1) (Entered: 01/26/2022)
2022-03-2215NOTICE of Appearance by Joshua Loevy on behalf of JIMMY TOBIAS (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 03/22/2022)
2022-03-2416Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 03/24/2022)
2022-03-25MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 16 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by May 24, 2022. The next status report should indicate the number of potentially responsive records and an approximate date of completion of the defendant's review and production, in light of the parties' ongoing narrowing efforts. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 3/24/2022. (lccrc1) (Entered: 03/25/2022)
2022-05-2417NOTICE of Appearance by Diana Viggiano Valdivia on behalf of All Defendants (Valdivia, Diana) (Entered: 05/24/2022)
2022-05-2418Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Valdivia, Diana) (Entered: 05/24/2022)
2022-05-26MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 18 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by August 22, 2022. The next status report should detail the results of the parties' further narrowing efforts, given the number of potentially responsive documents to many of the uncompleted requests and obvious unworkability of the resulting production schedule. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 5/26/2022. (lccrc1) (Entered: 05/26/2022)
2022-08-2219Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Valdivia, Diana) (Entered: 08/22/2022)
2022-08-23MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 19 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further status report by October 21, 2022. The parties are further ordered to appear for a video status conference on October 25, 2022 at 10:00 AM. Videoconference information will be emailed to the parties separately. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 8/23/22. (lccrc1) (Entered: 08/23/2022)
2022-10-2120Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 10/21/2022)
2022-10-25Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Christopher R. Cooper: Status Conference held via videoconference on 10/25/2022. The Court will issue an order regarding the next Joint Status Report. (Court Reporter: Lisa Moreira.) (hmc) (Entered: 10/25/2022)
2022-10-25MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 20 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by January 20, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/25/2022. (lccrc1) (Entered: 10/25/2022)
2023-01-2021Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 01/20/2023)
2023-01-23MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 21 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by April 21, 2023. As with previous status reports, the next status report should detail the results of the parties' further narrowing efforts, given the number of potentially responsive documents to many of the uncompleted requests and obvious unworkability of the resulting production schedule, as currently projected. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 1/23/2023. (lccrc1) (Entered: 01/23/2023)
2023-03-0922NOTICE of Appearance by Merrick Jason Wayne on behalf of JIMMY TOBIAS (Wayne, Merrick) (Entered: 03/09/2023)
2023-04-2123Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Hammond, Derek) (Entered: 04/21/2023)
2023-04-24MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 23 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by July 21, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 4/24/2023. (lccrc1) (Entered: 04/24/2023)
2023-07-1324NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Kartik Narayan Venguswamy on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Substituting for attorney Derek Hammond (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 07/13/2023)
2023-07-2125Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 07/21/2023)
2023-08-02MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 25 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by October 20, 2023. The Court encourages the parties to explore ways to expedite the completion of the production in SOL-2020-00133 and directs the parties to update the Court on the results of those efforts in the next joint status report. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 8/2/2023. (lccrc1) (Entered: 08/02/2023)
2023-10-2026Joint MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 10/20/2023)
2023-10-25MINUTE ORDER granting 26 Motion for Extension. The parties are hereby directed to file their joint status report by October 27, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/25/2023. (lccrc1) (Entered: 10/25/2023)
2023-10-2727Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 10/27/2023)
2023-10-31MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 27 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by January 26, 2024. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/31/2023. (lccrc1) (Entered: 10/31/2023)
2024-01-2628Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. (Venguswamy, Kartik) (Entered: 01/26/2024)
2024-01-30MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 28 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report by April 26, 2024. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 1/30/2024. (lccrc1) (Entered: 01/30/2024)
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