FOIA Activity: 15 New Procedural or Substantive Decisions

We have added 15 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between November 29, 2020 and December 5, 2020. These are associated with 13 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.

Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.

1. CAE 2:2018cv00873 — Stanco et al v. Internal Revenue Service

   • December 2, 2020: ORDER signed by District Judge Troy L. Nunley on 12/1/2020 ORDERING that Defendant's responsive pleading is due 14 days from the filing of Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint.(Reader, L)
2. DC 1:2018cv01171 — WERTH v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al

   • December 3, 2020: MEMORANDUM OPINION accompanying the final order issued separately this day. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 12/3/20.(psu1)
3. DC 1:2019cv01182 — COLE v. COPAN et al

   • November 30, 2020: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION re: Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment [10] ; Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion for Discovery [12] Signed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on 11/30/2020. (lcac)
4. ID 1:2020cv00492 — Hoffman v. Congdon

   • December 2, 2020: INITIAL REVIEW ORDER. Hoffmans Application for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (Dkt. [1] ) is GRANTED as stated herein. Hoffman need not prepay the fee in full;bhowever, Hoffman must pay $100.00 per month to the Clerk of Court, on or before th e last day of each month, until the filing fee is paid in full. After an initial review of the Motion (Dkt. [2] ), the Motion is DENIED andHoffmans case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The Court GRANTS Hoffman leave to file a Complaint under a differe nt legal theory should he choose to do so. Any Complaint must be filed within thirty (30) days of the issuance of this Order.. Signed by Judge David C. Nye. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (alw)
   • December 2, 2020: INITIAL REVIEW ORDER. Hoffmans Application for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (Dkt. [1] ) is GRANTED as stated herein. Hoffman need not prepay the fee in full;bhowever, Hoffman must pay $100.00 per month to the Clerk of Court, on or before th e last day of each month, until the filing fee is paid in full. After an initial review of the Motion (Dkt. [2] ), the Motion is DENIED andHoffmans case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The Court GRANTS Hoffman leave to file a Complaint under a differe nt legal theory should he choose to do so. Any Complaint must be filed within thirty (30) days of the issuance of this Order.. Signed by Judge David C. Nye. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (alw)
   • December 2, 2020: INITIAL REVIEW ORDER. Hoffmans Application for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (Dkt. [1] ) is GRANTED as stated herein. Hoffman need not prepay the fee in full;bhowever, Hoffman must pay $100.00 per month to the Clerk of Court, on or before th e last day of each month, until the filing fee is paid in full. After an initial review of the Motion (Dkt. [2] ), the Motion is DENIED andHoffmans case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The Court GRANTS Hoffman leave to file a Complaint under a differe nt legal theory should he choose to do so. Any Complaint must be filed within thirty (30) days of the issuance of this Order.. Signed by Judge David C. Nye. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (alw)
5. NYE 1:2017cv03329 — Cox v. Department of Justice et al

   • November 30, 2020: MEMORANDUM AND ORDER granting in part and denying in part [52] Motion for Summary Judgment: For the reasons set forth herein, the Agencies motion to dismiss is denied, and the Agencies motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in par t. Specifically, DOJ is granted summary judgment with respect to their withholding of records in response to Coxs requests numbered five through eight; DOD is granted summary judgment with respect to their withholding of records in response to Cox&# 039;s requests numbered five through seven; ODNI is granted summary judgment with respect to their withholding of records in response to Cox's requests numbered four and five; and the State Department is granted summary judgment with respect to their withholding of records in response to Cox's requests numbered four through six. The FBI's motion for summary judgment is denied without prejudice, and it is directed to supplement its Vaughn submissions in accordance with this Order. This matter is recommitted to Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann for all remaining pre-trial matters. Ordered by Chief Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf on 11/26/2020. (Mauskopf, Roslynn)
6. NYS 1:2017cv03956 — Radar Online LLC v. Federal Bureau Of Investigation

   • December 2, 2020: ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the parties are required to submit a joint status letter to this Court by December 8, 2020. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Paul G. Gardephe on 12/2/2020) (ks)
7. NYS 1:2019cv00385 — Junk v. Board Of Governors Of The Federal Reserve System.

   • December 3, 2020: ORDER: It is hereby ORDERED that parties shall submit a proposed judgment by December 8, 2020. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiffs request to stay proceedings in the above-captioned case is denied. (Signed by Judge Denise L. Cote on 12/3/2020) (jca)
8. NYS 1:2019cv07058 — American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

   • December 2, 2020: ORDER: The oral argument scheduled for December 3, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. shall occur as a videoconference using the Skype platform. To optimize the quality of the video feed, only the Court, Plaintiff's counsel, Movant' s counsel, and Defendan ts' counsel will appear by video for the proceeding; all others will participate by telephone. Due to the limited capacity of the Skype system, only one counsel per party may participate. Co-counsel, members of the press, and the public may acce ss the audio feed of the conference by calling (917) 933-2166 and entering the conference ID 225540242, and as further set forth in this order. (Telephone Conference set for 12/3/2020 at 10:30 AM before Judge George B. Daniels.) (Signed by Judge George B. Daniels on 12/2/2020) (jwh)
9. NYS 1:2020cv07182 — Buff v. United States of America et al

   • December 2, 2020: PRO SE PRETRIAL CONFERENCE: Pro se Plaintiff and counsel for all parties are hereby notified that this case is referred to Magistrate Kevin N. Fox for the purposes of Case Management and Scheduling pursuant to Federal Rule Civil Procedure 16. You a re directed to furnish all attorneys in this action with copies of this order and enclosures. If you are unaware of the identity of counsel for any of the parties, you must send a copy of the notice and rules to that party personally. All correspon dence to the Court should be addressed to the chambers of Magistrate Judge Kevin N. Fox and submitted to the Pro Se Intake Unit, located in the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, New York, New York 10007 telephone (212) 805-0175. Any procedural questions by Pro Se plaintiff should be addressed to the Office of Pro SeIntake Unit at (212) 805-0175. (Signed by Judge George B. Daniels on 12/2/2020) (cf)
10. SC 2:2019cv01786 — Samuel v. U.S. Department of State

    • December 3, 2020: ORDER: The Court ADOPTS the R & R of the Magistrate Judge (Dkt. No. 43) as the order of the Court and GRANTS Defendants motion for summary judgment (Dkt. No. 37). AND IT IS SO ORDERED. Signed by Honorable Richard M Gergel on 12/3/20.(ltap, ) Modified on 12/9/2020 to reference ORDER VACATED on 12/8/2020(sshe, ).
11. TXN 3:2020cv01520 — Braggs v. Flagship Credit Acceptance

    • December 4, 2020: ORDER ACCEPTING [9] FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE. (Ordered by Senior Judge A. Joe Fish on 12/4/2020) (jmg)
12. TXN 4:2020cv01222 — Compton v. McDonald et al

    • December 1, 2020: ORDER ACCEPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONOF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE: The District Judge reviewed the proposed Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendation for plain error. Finding none, the undersigned District Judge believes that the [7] Findings and Conclusions of the Magistrate Judge are correct, and they are accepted as the Findings and Conclusions of the Court. It is ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Withdraw Claim (ECF No. [6] ) is GRANTED. Therefore, the case should be and is hereby DISMISSED. (Ordered by Judge Mark Pittman on 12/1/2020) (mmw)
13. WAW 2:2019cv01051 — Northwest Environmental Advocates v. US Environmental Protection Agency

    • December 3, 2020: ORDER re Parties' [22] Joint Status Report: The parties will submit a joint status report on or before January 4, 2021. Signed by Judge James L. Robart. (LH)