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Case TitleO'CONNOR v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2023cv03348
Date Filed2023-11-08
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Trevor N. McFadden
PlaintiffMATT O'CONNOR
Case DescriptionMatt O'Connor submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records concerning William A. Hanhardt, who had served as Chief Detective for the Chicago Police before being pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy. He died in 2016. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and told O'Connor that it had 54,165 pages of potentially responsive records, processing of which would take at least 84 months. The agency suggested to O'Connor that he narrow the request to the first 950 responsive pages, which would take 29 months to process. After hearing nothing further from the agency, O'Connor filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

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

2023-11-081COMPLAINT against FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-10480668) filed by MATT O'CONNOR. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1-3, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet, # 3 Summons)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 11/08/2023)
2023-11-082NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Topic on behalf of MATT O'CONNOR (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 11/08/2023)
2023-11-083SEALED DOCUMENT filed by MATT O'CONNOR(This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 11/08/2023)
2023-11-084NOTICE of Appearance by Merrick Jason Wayne on behalf of MATT O'CONNOR (Wayne, Merrick) (Entered: 11/08/2023)
2023-11-08Case Assigned to Judge Trevor N. McFadden. (zljn) (Entered: 11/08/2023)
2023-11-085SUMMONS (4) Issued Electronically as to FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zljn) (Entered: 11/08/2023)
2023-11-086STANDING 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 11/8/2023. (Entered: 11/08/2023)
2023-12-217RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE served on 12/7/2023 (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 12/21/2023)
2023-12-218RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION served on 12/6/2023 (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 12/21/2023)
2023-12-219RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 12/7/2023. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 12/21/2023)
2023-12-2110RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 11/28/2023. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 12/28/2023. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 12/21/2023)
2023-12-2211NOTICE of Appearance by Brian J. Levy on behalf of FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Levy, Brian) (Entered: 12/22/2023)
2023-12-2212Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer re 1 Complaint, by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Levy, Brian) (Entered: 12/22/2023)
2023-12-28MINUTE ORDER: The Court ORDERS that the 12 Motion for Extension of Time is GRANTED. Defendants shall file their responsive pleading on or before January 11, 2024. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 12/27/2023. (lctnm3) (Entered: 12/28/2023)
2024-01-1113ANSWER to Complaint by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.(Levy, Brian) (Entered: 01/11/2024)
2024-01-16MINUTE ORDER: Before the Court are a Complaint and Answer in this FOIA case. It is hereby ORDERED that the parties meet and confer and that they then file a Joint Status Report proposing a schedule for proceeding in this matter. That JSR 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 JSR on or before February 16, 2024. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 1/16/2024. (lctnm3) (Entered: 01/16/2024)
2024-02-1614Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Levy, Brian) (Entered: 02/16/2024)
2024-02-16MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 14 Joint Status Report, the Court ORDERS the parties to submit a further JSR on or before April 16, 2024, updating the Court on the status of this case. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 2/16/2024. (lctnm3) (Entered: 02/16/2024)
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