FOIA Activity: 10 New Procedural or Substantive Decisions

We have added 10 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between November 14, 2021 and November 20, 2021. These are associated with 8 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. NYS 1:2015cv05487 — Seife v. United States Food and Drug Administration

   • November 19, 2021: ORDER granting [88] Letter Motion for Extension of Time to File. The foregoing request for an extension, until January 24, 2022, of the deadline to file Plaintiff's notice of taxation of costs and petition for attorney's fees is granted on the basis that Plaintiff has demonstrated good cause for the extension of time for the reasons explained above. Docket no. 88 resolved. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Laura Taylor Swain on 11/18/2021) (js)
2. NYS 1:2020cv10083 — American Civil Liberties Union v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al

   • November 19, 2021: ORDER: Accordingly, DHS is directed to forward the ACLU's FOIA request to the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Paul G. Gardephe on 11/19/2021) (ks)
3. NYS 1:2020cv10324 — Wilson v. Federal Bureau Of Investigation

   • November 17, 2021: ORDER terminating [27] Motion for Summary Judgment; granting [31] Motion to Strike docket entry and document [27] CROSS MOTION for Summary Judgment , filed by John Wilson. ENDORSEMENT: Motion GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is requested to cancel the gavel at ECF No. 27. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron on 11/17/2021) (kl)
   • November 19, 2021: ORDER withdrawing [22] Motion for Summary Judgment; withdrawing [28] Motion for Summary Judgment. Motion GRANTED. The Court hereby accepts the parties' offer to withdraw their cross-motions without prejudice; thus, the cross-motions filed at ECF Nos. 22 and 28 hereby are deemed withdrawn. The proposed briefing schedule set forth below is adopted. The parties shall file to the docket their renewed cross-motions and related briefs no later than Thursday, February 3, 2022. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron on 11/19/2021) (kl)
4. NYS 1:2021cv06788 — Rapid Defense Network et al v. United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement

   • November 17, 2021: ORDER granting [20] Letter Motion to Adjourn Conference. MEMO ENDORSED: The initial pretrial conference currently scheduled for November 18, 2021 is adjourned sine die. The parties will submit a joint letter by December 1, 2021 to update the Court on the status of their settlement negotiations. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Paul G. Gardephe on 11/17/2021) (mml)
5. NYS 1:2021cv07288 — Informed Consent Action Network v. National Institutes of Health

   • November 15, 2021: ORDER: The following briefing schedule is hereby ORDERED for the FOIA request at issue in 21-cv-7331: Defendant's motion is due by January 10, 2022. Plaintiff's response and its own motion are due on January 24, 2022. Defendant&#0 39;s reply and its response to Plaintiffs motion are due by January 31, 2022. Plaintiff's reply is due by February 7, 2022. The following production schedule is hereby ORDERED with respect to the FOIA request at issue in 21-cv-7288: Production shall be completed by February 11, 2022. The Vaughn index is due by February 18, 2022. The next conference is scheduled for February 15, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. and will be held remotely by telephone. Parties are directed to dial into the Court's t eleconference line at 888-251-2909 and use access code 2123101. SO ORDERED.( Motions due by 1/10/2022. Responses due by 1/31/2022. Replies due by 2/7/2022. Telephone Conference set for 2/15/2022 at 03:00 PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman.) (Signed by Judge Lewis J. Liman on 11/15/2021) (va)
6. NYS 1:2021cv07813 — Goodman v. Department of Homeland Security

   • November 18, 2021: ORDER granting [11] Letter Motion to Adjourn Conference. Application GRANTED. The initial conference scheduled for December 2, 2021, is adjourned to January 5, 2022, at 4:20 p.m. The parties shall file their joint letter and proposed case manage ment plan by December 29, 2021, at noon. Initial Conference set for 1/5/2022 at 04:20 PM before Judge Lorna G. Schofield. Telephone Conference set for 1/5/2022 at 04:20 PM before Judge Lorna G. Schofield. (Signed by Judge Lorna G. Schofield on 11/18/2021) (mml)
7. NYS 1:2021cv09337 — First Look Institute, Inc. et al v. Defense Threat Reduction Agency

   • November 17, 2021: ORDER: To protect the public health, while promoting the "just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding," Fed. R. Civ. P. 1, it is ORDERED pursuant to Rules 30(b)(3) and 30(b)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil P rocedure that all depositions in this action may be taken via telephone, videoconference, or other remote means. It is further ORDERED pursuant to Rule 30(b)(5) that a deposition will be deemed to have taken place "before an officer appointed or designated under Rule 28" if such officer attends the deposition using the same remote means used to connect all other participants, so long as all participants (including the officer) can clearly hear and be heard by all other participants. The parties are encouraged to engage in discovery through remote means at every available opportunity. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Analisa Torres on 11/17/2021) (vfr)
   • November 17, 2021: ORDER: To conserve resources, to promote judicial efficiency, and in an effort to achieve a faster disposition of this matter, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties discuss whether they are willing to consent, under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), to condu cting all further proceedings before the assigned Magistrate Judge. If all parties consent to proceed before the Magistrate Judge, counsel for Defendant shall, by January 10, 2022, e-mail a fully executed Notice, Consent, and Reference of a Civil Act ion to a Magistrate Judge form, available at https://nysd.uscomis.gov/node/754 and attached to this order, to Orders_and_Judgments@nysd.uscomis.gov. If the Court approves that form, all further proceedings will then be conducted before the assig ned Magistrate Judge rather than before me. An information sheet on proceedings before magistrate judges is also attached to this order. Any appeal would be taken directly to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as it would be i f the consent form were not signed and so ordered. If any party does not consent to conducting all further proceedings before the assigned Magistrate Judge, the parties must file a joint letter, by January 10, 2022, advising the Court that the parties do not consent, but without disclosing the identity of the party or parties who do not consent. The parties are free to withhold consent without negative consequences. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Analisa Torres on 11/17/2021) (va)
8. NYW 1:2019cv00319 — Buckley v. U. S. Department of Justice

   • November 18, 2021: DECISION and ORDER GRANTING in part and DENYING in part [13] Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment; GRANTING in part and DENYING in part [19] Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendant must either, WITHIN 21 DAYS, provide additional documentation permitting the court to determine whether FOIA Exemption 3 protects the release of information on Bates 51, or provide such information to the Plaintiff. SO ORDERED. Signed by Hon. Leslie G. Foschio on 11/18/2021. (TAH)