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Case TitleAMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2022cv02581
Date Filed2022-08-26
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Carl J. Nichols
PlaintiffAMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE
Case DescriptionAmerican Center for Law and Justice submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning the Biden administration's decision to remove Nigeria from the Countries of Particular Concern list. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, ACLJ filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Vaughn index, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
Complaint attachment 5
Complaint attachment 6
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2022-08-261COMPLAINT against STATE DEPARTMENT ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-9472337) filed by AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A --- FOIA Request, # 2 Exhibit B --- Acknowledgement, # 3 Summons AG, # 4 Summons DOJ US Atty, # 5 Summons State Dept., # 6 Civil Cover Sheet)(Monaghan, John) (Attachment 6 replaced on 8/29/2022) (znmg). (Entered: 08/26/2022)
2022-08-262NOTICE of Appearance by John Monaghan on behalf of AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE (Monaghan, John) (Entered: 08/26/2022)
2022-08-263LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE (Monaghan, John) (Entered: 08/26/2022)
2022-08-29Case Assigned to Judge Carl J. Nichols. (znmg) (Entered: 08/29/2022)
2022-08-294SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(znmg) (Entered: 08/29/2022)
2022-09-025STANDING ORDER. Signed by Judge Carl J. Nichols on September 2, 2022. (lccjn1) (Entered: 09/02/2022)
2022-09-126NOTICE of Appearance by Benjamin Paul Sisney on behalf of AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE (Sisney, Benjamin) (Entered: 09/12/2022)
2022-09-137RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE served on 9/8/2022 (Sisney, Benjamin) (Entered: 09/13/2022)
2022-09-198RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General September 14, 2022. (Monaghan, John) (Entered: 09/19/2022)
2022-09-199RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 9/15/2022. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 10/15/2022. (Monaghan, John) (Entered: 09/19/2022)
2022-10-0310NOTICE of Appearance by Bradley Silverman on behalf of All Defendants (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 10/03/2022)
2022-10-1711ANSWER to Complaint by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE.(Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 10/17/2022)
2022-10-24MINUTE ORDER. Before the Court in this Freedom of Information Act case are a Complaint and an Answer. Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 16.3, the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) are inapplicable. It is hereby ORDERED that the Parties shall confer and file a Joint Status Report on or before November 14, 2022. The Joint Status Report shall address: (1) the status of Plaintiff's FOIA request; (2) the anticipated number of documents responsive to Plaintiff's FOIA request; (3) the anticipated dates for release of the documents requested by Plaintiff; (4) whether a motion for stay is likely under Open America v. Watergate Special Prosecution Force , 547 F.2d 605 (D.C. Cir. 1976); (5) the possibility of prioritizing documents responsive to Plaintiff's request and any discussions regarding whether Plaintiff's request can be narrowed; and (6) whether the Parties anticipate summary judgment briefing and, if so, a proposed briefing schedule. Signed by Judge Carl J. Nichols on October 24, 2022. (lccjn1) (Entered: 10/24/2022)
2022-10-24Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 11/14/2022. (zcal) (Entered: 10/26/2022)
2022-11-1412Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 11/14/2022)
2022-11-28MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the 12 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties shall file an additional joint status report by January 13, 2023, and every 60 days thereafter until either party moves for a briefing schedule for dispositive motions, files a dispositive motion, or the case is terminated. Signed by Judge Carl J. Nichols on November 28, 2022. (lccjn1) (Entered: 11/28/2022)
2023-01-1313Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 01/13/2023)
2023-03-1414Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 03/14/2023)
2023-05-1515Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 05/15/2023)
2023-07-1416Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 07/14/2023)
2023-09-1217Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 09/12/2023)
2023-11-1318Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 11/13/2023)
2024-01-1019Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 01/10/2024)
2024-03-1120Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (Silverman, Bradley) (Entered: 03/11/2024)
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