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Case TitleCODEBREAKER FILMS LLC v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2021cv01617
Date Filed2021-06-14
Date Closed2024-02-22
JudgeJudge Trevor N. McFadden
PlaintiffCODEBREAKER FILMS LLC
Case DescriptionCodebreaker Films submitted two FOIA requests to the FBI for records concerning research for its film Enemies of the State. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. The agency administratively closed the second request as being encompassed in the first request. After hearing nothing further from the agency concerning its requests, Codebreaker Films filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantFEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
DefendantUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
Complaint attachment 5
Complaint attachment 6
Complaint attachment 7
Complaint attachment 8
Complaint attachment 9
Complaint attachment 10
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2021-06-141COMPLAINT against FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-8527680) filed by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G, # 8 Exhibit H, # 9 Summons, # 10 Civil Cover Sheet)(Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 06/14/2021)
2021-06-142LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 06/14/2021)
2021-06-15Case Assigned to Judge Trevor N. McFadden. (zsb) (Entered: 06/15/2021)
2021-06-153SUMMONS (4) Issued Electronically as to FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(adh, ) (Entered: 06/15/2021)
2021-06-154STANDING 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 6/15/2021. (lctnm3) (Entered: 06/15/2021)
2021-06-235RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 6/22/21., RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 6/22/2021. ( Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 7/22/2021.), RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION served on 6/22/2021; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE served on 6/22/2021 (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 06/23/2021)
2021-07-216NOTICE of Appearance by Daniel Patrick Schaefer on behalf of All Defendants (Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 07/21/2021)
2021-07-217ANSWER to Complaint by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 07/21/2021)
2021-07-218ORDER setting a Telephonic Initial Scheduling Conference for August 25, 2021 at 10 a.m. before Judge Trevor N. McFadden. Dial-in information will be sent to the parties. See attached Order for additional details. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 7/21/2021. (lctnm3) (Entered: 07/21/2021)
2021-07-229NOTICE of Appearance by Adam Alexander Marshall on behalf of CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC (Marshall, Adam) (Entered: 07/22/2021)
2021-07-22Set/Reset Hearings: Telephonic Initial Scheduling Conference set for 8/25/2021 at 10:00 AM before Judge Trevor N. McFadden. (hmc) (Entered: 07/22/2021)
2021-07-2310NOTICE of Appearance by Gunita Singh on behalf of CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC (Singh, Gunita) (Entered: 07/23/2021)
2021-08-1811Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order of Defendants, # 2 Text of Proposed Order of Plaintiff)(Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 08/18/2021)
2021-08-25Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Trevor N. McFadden: Case called for an Initial Scheduling Conference, but not held. Telephonic Status Conference held on 8/25/2021. Joint Status Report due by 10/25/2021, and every 60 days thereafter. (Court Reporter: Crystal Pilgrim.) (hmc) (Entered: 08/25/2021)
2021-10-2512Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 10/25/2021)
2021-12-2213Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 12/22/2021)
2022-02-2214Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Marshall, Adam) (Entered: 02/22/2022)
2022-04-2515Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Plaintiff's Proposed Order)(Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 04/25/2022)
2022-04-26MINUTE ORDER. The parties shall appear for a telephonic status conference on July 1, 2022, at 2 p.m. Dial-in information will be emailed to the parties. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 4/26/2022. (lctnm3) (Entered: 04/26/2022)
2022-04-26Set/Reset Hearings: Telephonic Status Conference set for 7/1/2022 at 2:00 PM before Judge Trevor N. McFadden. (hmc) (Entered: 04/26/2022)
2022-06-2416Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 06/24/2022)
2022-07-01Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Trevor N. McFadden: Telephonic Status Conference held on 7/1/2022. Joint Status Report due by 8/23/2022. (Court Reporter: Tammy Nestor.) (hmc) (Entered: 07/01/2022)
2022-08-2317Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 08/23/2022)
2022-10-1718NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Robert Aaron Caplen on behalf of All Defendants Substituting for attorney Daniel P. Schaefer (Caplen, Robert) (Entered: 10/17/2022)
2022-10-2419Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 10/24/2022)
2022-12-1920Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 12/19/2022)
2023-02-0321NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Brian J. Levy on behalf of FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Substituting for attorney Robert A. Caplen (Levy, Brian) (Entered: 02/03/2023)
2023-02-2122Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Levy, Brian) (Entered: 02/21/2023)
2023-04-2423Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order of Plaintiff)(Townsend, KatieLynn) (Entered: 04/24/2023)
2023-04-24MINUTE ORDER: After considering the 23 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file another JSR by June 23, 2023. The Court DENIES Plaintiff's request that the Court order Defendants to complete the remaining processing within 14 days. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 4/24/2023. (lctnm3) (Entered: 04/24/2023)
2023-04-25Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 6/23/2023. (hmc) (Entered: 04/25/2023)
2023-06-2324Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Levy, Brian) (Entered: 06/23/2023)
2023-08-2225Joint MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report and Thirteenth Joint Status Report by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Levy, Brian) (Entered: 08/22/2023)
2023-08-2226Joint STATUS REPORT by CODEBREAKER FILMS LLC, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (See Docket Entry 25 to view document). (znmw) (Entered: 08/23/2023)
2023-08-24MINUTE ORDER: Having considered the 25 Joint Motion for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report and Thirteenth Joint Status Report, the Court ORDERS that the motion is GRANTED. The parties shall file another JSR on or before November 27, 2023 and every 60 days thereafter. The JSR shall include details regarding the status of the Government's reprocessing of records, along with any relevant developments in this matter. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 8/24/2023. (lctnm3) (Entered: 08/24/2023)
2023-08-25Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 11/27/2023. (hmc) (Entered: 08/25/2023)
2023-11-2727Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Levy, Brian) (Entered: 11/27/2023)
2024-01-2628Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Levy, Brian) (Entered: 01/26/2024)
2024-02-2029STIPULATION of Dismissal by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Levy, Brian) (Entered: 02/20/2024)
2024-02-21MINUTE ORDER: Having considered the 29 Stipulation of Dismissal, the Court ORDERS that this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). The Clerk of Court is directed to close the case. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 2/21/2024. (lctnm3) (Entered: 02/21/2024)
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