| Date Filed | Doc # | Docket Text |
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| 2022-08-03 | 1 | COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-9416916) filed by MIKE HOWELL, HERITAGE FOUNDATION. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit Ex. 1, # 3 Exhibit Ex. 2, # 4 Summons DHS, # 5 Summons AG, # 6 Summons USAO)(Dewey, Samuel) (Entered: 08/03/2022) |
| 2022-08-08 | 2 | SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zmrl) (Entered: 08/08/2022) |
| 2022-08-08 | | Case Assigned to Judge Jia M. Cobb. (zmrl) (Entered: 08/08/2022) |
| 2022-09-16 | 3 | ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.(Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 09/16/2022) |
| 2022-09-19 | | MINUTE ORDER: The Court ORDERS that the Parties confer and submit a joint proposed schedule for further proceedings, which shall include a proposed schedule for the processing and release of responsive records or for briefing dispositive motions, by October 3, 2022. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on 9/19/2022. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 09/19/2022) |
| 2022-10-03 | 4 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 10/03/2022) |
| 2022-10-25 | 5 | MOTION to Compel by HERITAGE FOUNDATION, MIKE HOWELL. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Declaration of Samuel Everett Dewey, # 3 Exhibit Dewey Dec. Ex. 1, # 4 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 2, # 5 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 3, # 6 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 4, # 7 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 5, # 8 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 6, # 9 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 7, # 10 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 8, # 11 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 9, # 12 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 10, # 13 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 11, # 14 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 12, # 15 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 13, # 16 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 14, # 17 Exhibit Dewey Decl. Ex. 15, # 18 Text of Proposed Order)(Dewey, Samuel) (Entered: 10/25/2022) |
| 2022-10-28 | 6 | NOTICE of Appearance by HERITAGE FOUNDATION, MIKE HOWELL. (Jankowski, Roman) Modified event title on 11/1/2022 (znmw). (Entered: 10/28/2022) |
| 2022-11-01 | 7 | DECLARATION of Samuel Everett Dewey by HERITAGE FOUNDATION, MIKE HOWELL re 5 MOTION to Compel filed by HERITAGE FOUNDATION, MIKE HOWELL. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C)(Dewey, Samuel) (Entered: 11/01/2022) |
| 2022-11-03 | 8 | MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply as to 5 MOTION to Compel with proposed order by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 11/03/2022) |
| 2022-11-03 | 9 | Memorandum in opposition to re 8 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply filed by HERITAGE FOUNDATION, MIKE HOWELL. (Dewey, Samuel) (Entered: 11/03/2022) |
| 2022-11-08 | | MINUTE ORDER re 8 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply. Having considered the motion and for good cause shown, the Court GRANTS the motion. The Government is ORDERED to submit its Response to the Motion to Compel 5 by December 8, 2022. That said, the Court is sensitive to Plaintiff's arguments about Defendant's responsibility to make responsive records "promptly available," 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A), and emphasizes that no more extensions will be granted absent a compelling reason. The Court finds that it is in the public interest to finalize a production schedule in this case as expeditiously as is reasonable. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on November 8, 2022. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 11/08/2022) |
| 2022-12-08 | 10 | Memorandum in opposition to re 5 Motion to Compel,, filed by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Pavlik-Keenan, # 2 Exhibit A, # 3 Exhibit B)(Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 12/08/2022) |
| 2022-12-13 | 11 | SUPPLEMENTAL MEMORANDUM to re 10 Memorandum in Opposition filed by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 12/13/2022) |
| 2022-12-15 | 12 | Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply as to 5 MOTION to Compel by HERITAGE FOUNDATION, MIKE HOWELL. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Dewey, Samuel) (Entered: 12/15/2022) |
| 2022-12-15 | | MINUTE ORDER re 12 Consent Motion for Extension of Time: Having considered the motion and for good cause shown, the Court GRANTS the motion. Plaintiff is ORDERED to submit its Reply in support of its Motion to Compel 5 by December 16, 2022. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on December 15, 2022. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 12/15/2022) |
| 2022-12-16 | 13 | REPLY to opposition to motion re 5 MOTION to Compel filed by HERITAGE FOUNDATION, MIKE HOWELL. (Dewey, Samuel) (Entered: 12/16/2022) |
| 2022-12-22 | | MINUTE ORDER re 5 Motion to Compel. The Court agrees with Plaintiff that, under the circumstances, the Court should impose an accelerated production schedule. In order to fairly and efficiently determine the details of that schedule, the Court issues the following three orders. First, the Court ORDERS the Agency to process 500 pages of the records it has already identified and disclose them to Plaintiff by January 31, 2023. Second, the Court ORDERS the Agency to complete its full search for responsive records by January 23, 2023. On that date, the Agency is ORDERED to file a Response to this Order informing the Court of its determination of the total number of pages that are responsive to Plaintiff's FOIA request. Third, the Court ORDERS the Parties to appear via Zoom for a hearing on January 26, 2023, at 10:00 AM. At that hearing, the Court will set an accelerated production schedule for the disclosure of all the records in this case. The Agency should come prepared to inform the Court what accelerated schedule would be feasible given the volume and nature of the records. If, at any point, the Parties mutually agree to different terms, they should inform the Court so that the contents of this Order may be modified. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on December 22, 2022. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 12/22/2022) |
| 2023-01-23 | 14 | STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 01/23/2023) |
| 2023-01-26 | | Minute Entry on Status Conference Proceeding held on 1/26/2023 before Judge Jia M. Cobb. Oral order granting in part and denying in part 5 Motion to Compel. Order forthcoming via Chambers. (Court Reporter Stacy Heavenridge) (zed) (Entered: 01/26/2023) |
| 2023-01-26 | | MINUTE ORDER re hearing conducted via Zoom on January 26, 2023, at 10:00 AM: For the reasons stated on the record, the Court PARTIALLY GRANTS and PARTIALLY DENIES Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel 5 . This case does not involve an expedited request. See ECF 1 at 11 n.6. Nonetheless, courts have broad discretion to "oversee and supervise the agency's progress in responding to the request." Seavey v. DOJ , 266 F. Supp. 3d 241, 244 (D.D.C. 2017). "A court therefore may use its equitable powers to require the agency to process documents according to a court-imposed timeline." Clemente v. FBI , 71 F. Supp. 3d 262, 269 (D.D.C. 2014). The FOIA request in this case was received in January 2022. See ECF 1-3. The agency finalized its search approximately one year later, which was longer than Plaintiffs would reasonably expect. Moreover, the requested documents are at the center of an ongoing political debate and of high public interest. Accordingly, the Court finds that an accelerated schedule is justified. See Seavey , 266 F. Supp. 3d at 248. Defendant has informed the Court that, as of today, 506 pages have been processed and produced, out of a total of 4,155 pages of potentially responsive documents. See ECF 14. The Court ORDERS that the remaining 3,649 pages be processed by the end of May 2023. Per the Court's calculations, that would require a processing rate of approximately 913 pages per month, with the first batch due in February 2023. This order is without prejudice. If, during processing, Defendant finds that the required rate imposes an undue burden and is thus not feasible, it may, after conferring with Plaintiffs, submit a declaration specifically describing why that is the case, and the Court will consider it. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on January 26, 2023. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 01/26/2023) |
| 2023-01-26 | 15 | SCHEDULING ORDER. It is hereby ORDERED that the Parties shall file a joint status report by March 15, 2023. It is further ORDERED that the Parties shall file another joint status report by June 15, 2023, including a joint proposed schedule for further proceedings, which shall include a proposed schedule for the briefing of any dispositive motions. Should the Parties not be able to agree on a proposed schedule, the second joint status report should include a brief description of each Party's position as to how the case should proceed. See document for details. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on January 26, 2023. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 01/26/2023) |
| 2023-03-15 | 16 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 03/15/2023) |
| 2023-03-16 | | MINUTE ORDER re 16 Joint Status Report: The Court has reviewed the Joint Status Report and notes that Plaintiffs raise several "concerns" relating to the agency's processing of responsive records. Plaintiffs also state that they are conferring with the agency to resolve those issues. As the Parties do not ask the Court to intervene at this point, the Court will await the next status report on June 15, 2023, at which point production should be complete. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on March 16, 2023. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 03/16/2023) |
| 2023-06-15 | 17 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 06/15/2023) |
| 2023-06-20 | | MINUTE ORDER re 17 Joint Status Report: The Court has reviewed the Joint Status Report. Per Plaintiffs' request, the Court ORDERS the Parties to appear for a status hearing on July 5, 2023, at 11:00 AM, via Zoom. The Court will contact the Parties with the information necessary to access the call. Should the Parties confer and resolve the issues raised in the Joint Status Report before that date, they should file an additional Joint Status Report informing the Court so that the hearing can be cancelled. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on June 20, 2023. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 06/20/2023) |
| 2023-06-29 | 18 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 06/29/2023) |
| 2023-06-30 | | MINUTE ORDER re 18 Joint Status Report: The Court has reviewed the Joint Status Report. Per the Parties' joint request, the Court ORDERS that the status hearing currently scheduled for July 5, 2023, is VACATED. It is further ORDERED that the Parties will file another Joint Status Report on September 27, 2023, and every 90 days thereafter until further order of the Court. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on June 30, 2023. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 06/30/2023) |
| 2023-07-06 | | Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 9/27/2023. (zgf) (Entered: 07/06/2023) |
| 2023-09-27 | 19 | Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status report with proposed order by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 09/27/2023) |
| 2023-09-27 | | MINUTE ORDER granting 19 Motion for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report: upon consideration of the Motion and finding good cause, the Motion is GRANTED. The Parties are ORDERED to file a Joint Status Report by October 11, 2023. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on September 27, 2023. (lcjmc3) (Entered: 09/27/2023) |
| 2023-10-11 | 20 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 10/11/2023) |
| 2024-01-11 | 21 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Duffey, Thomas) (Entered: 01/11/2024) |
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