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Case TitleLEOPOLD v. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2014cv01772
Date Filed2014-10-23
Date Closed2016-12-14
JudgeJudge Reggie B. Walton
PlaintiffJASON LEOPOLD
Case DescriptionReporter Jason Leopold submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Defense for an index of all reports prepared by the Office of Net Assessment from 2003 through 2014. The agency responded that it could find no responsive records. Leopold appealed the decision, which the agency upheld. He then submitted a request for the title page and summaries of ONA reports. Although the agency admitted ONA had made such a list previously, it indicated the previous list went beyond what ONA was obligated to do under FOIA and it no longer had the resources to conduct such a burdensome search. Leopold appealed that denial and the agency once again upheld its decision. Leopold submitted a third request for any ONA reports. The agency initially rejected the request as duplicative of his previous requests, but after Leopold indicated the third request was for the entire reports rather than summaries, the agency rejected the request as too broad. Leopold appealed that decision, which the agency upheld. He then filed suit.
Complaint issues: Withholding not related to exemption claims, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantDEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2014-10-231COMPLAINT against DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-3880513) filed by JASON LEOPOLD. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons DOD, # 3 Summons USDOJ, # 4 Summons USAO)(Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 10/23/2014)
2014-10-23Case Assigned to Judge Reggie B. Walton. (md, ) (Entered: 10/23/2014)
2014-10-232SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Summons 2nd, # 2 Summons 3rd, # 3 Notice of Consent, # 4 Consent Form) (md, ) (Entered: 10/23/2014)
2014-10-293RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 10/29/2014. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 11/28/2014. (Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 10/29/2014)
2014-10-294RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 10/29/2014. (Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 10/29/2014)
2014-10-295ERRATA correcting case number by JASON LEOPOLD 4 Summons Returned Executed as to U.S. Attorney General. (Attachments: # 1 Affidavit)(Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 10/29/2014)
2014-11-266NOTICE of Appearance by Benton Gregory Peterson on behalf of DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (Peterson, Benton) (Entered: 11/26/2014)
2014-11-267Unopposed MOTION for Extension of Time to File by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (Peterson, Benton) (Entered: 11/26/2014)
2014-12-01MINUTE ORDER granting 7 Motion for Extension of Time to File. For good cause shown, and in light of the plaintiff's consent, it is hereby ORDERED that the defendant's motion for an extension of time to respond to the plaintiff's complaint is GRANTED, and the defendant shall file its response on or before January 6, 2015. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on December 1, 2014. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 12/01/2014)
2014-12-01Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer to the Complaint due by 1/6/2015. (tg ) (Entered: 12/02/2014)
2014-12-03Set/Reset Deadlines: Response due by 1/6/2015 (mpt, ) (Entered: 12/03/2014)
2015-01-068ANSWER to Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.(Peterson, Benton) (Entered: 01/06/2015)
2015-04-039MOTION for an order directing the parties to meet and confer and file a joint proposed briefing schedule by JASON LEOPOLD (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order, # 2 Exhibit 1 - Email chain)(Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 04/03/2015)
2015-04-07MINUTE ORDER granting 9 Motion. To ensure the expeditious resolution of this action, and because this qualifies as an exempted case under Local Civil Rule 16.3(b), it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint proposed schedule governing further proceedings on or before April 17, 2015. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on April 7, 2015. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 04/07/2015)
2015-04-09Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Proposed Schedule due by 4/17/2015 (mpt, ) (Entered: 04/09/2015)
2015-04-1710Unopposed MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Proposed Briefing Schedule by JASON LEOPOLD (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 04/17/2015)
2015-04-20MINUTE ORDER granting 10 Motion for Extension of Time to File. In light of the parties' consent, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that the plaintiff's Unopposed Motion for an Extension of Time to File Briefing Schedule is GRANTED, and the parties shall file a joint proposed schedule governing further proceedings on or before May 18, 2015. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on April 20, 2015. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 04/20/2015)
2015-04-20Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint proposed schedule governing further proceedings by 5/18/2015 (mpt, ) (Entered: 04/20/2015)
2015-05-1811STATUS REPORT (Joint) by JASON LEOPOLD. (Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 05/18/2015)
2015-05-19MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall appear for a status conference at a time and date to be determined by the Clerk of the Court. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on May 19, 2015. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 05/19/2015)
2015-05-21Set/Reset Hearings: Status Conference set for 6/11/2015 09:30 AM in Courtroom 16 before Judge Reggie B. Walton. (mpt, ) (Entered: 05/21/2015)
2015-06-1112ORDER. In accordance with the oral rulings issued during the hearing held this same day, it is hereby ORDERED that the defendant shall produce to the plaintiff by December 11, 2015, the title pages of the responsive documents in the defendant's possession, unless the contents of those pages are otherwise exempt from production under the Freedom of Information Act. The defendant shall produce the documents on a rolling basis, providing documents as they are ready for release on a monthly basis. It is further ORDERED that the parties shall appear for a Status Hearing on December 17th, 2015, at 9:15 a.m. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on June 11, 2015. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 06/11/2015)
2015-06-11Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Reggie B. Walton: Status Conference held on 6/11/2015 (Further Status Conference set for 12/17/2015 09:15 AM in Courtroom 16 before Judge Reggie B. Walton) (Court Reporter Cathryn Jones) (mpt) (Entered: 06/11/2015)
2015-08-1413MOTION for Order to Show Cause why Defendant should not be held in contempt by JASON LEOPOLD (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order, # 2 Exhibit Email)(Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 08/14/2015)
2015-08-2014REPLY to opposition to motion re 13 MOTION for Order to Show Cause why Defendant should not be held in contempt filed by DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration)(Peterson, Benton) (Entered: 08/20/2015)
2015-11-0915ORDER denying 13 Motion for Order to Show Cause. For the reasons set forth in the attached Order, it is hereby ORDERED that the plaintiff's Motion for an Order to Show Cause Why Defendant Should Not be Held in Contempt is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on November 9, 2015. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 11/09/2015)
2015-12-17Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Reggie B. Walton: Status Conference held on 12/17/2015. Further Status Conference set for 1/22/2016 at 09:30 AM in Courtroom 16 before Judge Reggie B. Walton. (Court Reporter Cathryn Jones) (mpt) (Entered: 12/22/2015)
2015-12-18MINUTE ORDER. In accordance with the oral rulings issued during the Status Conference held on December 17, 2015, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall appear for a Status Conference on January 22, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on December 18, 2015. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 12/18/2015)
2016-01-2116Joint MOTION to Continue Status conference by JASON LEOPOLD (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 01/21/2016)
2016-01-21MINUTE ORDER granting 16 Motion to Continue. In light of the parties' consent, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that the Joint Motion to Continue the Status Conference scheduled for January 22, 2016, is GRANTED, and the status conference is CONTINUED to a time and date to be determined by the Clerk of the Court. It is further ORDERED that the defendant shall process and release the nonexempt portions of the reports identified by the plaintiff on a rolling monthly basis over the next six months. It is further ORDERED that at least seven days prior to the next status hearing, the parties shall jointly file a status report advising the Court as to the status of the production efforts. If further litigation will be necessary, the parties' status report will also include a proposed briefing schedule. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on January 21, 2016. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 01/21/2016)
2016-01-27NOTICE of Hearing: A Status Conference is set for 8/19/2016, at 9:00 AM, in Courtroom 16, before Judge Reggie B. Walton. (ad) (Entered: 01/27/2016)
2016-08-1817Joint MOTION to Continue Status Conference by JASON LEOPOLD (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 08/18/2016)
2016-08-18MINUTE ORDER granting 17 Motion to Continue. In light of the parties' consent, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that the Joint Motion to Continue 17 is GRANTED, and the Status Conference scheduled for August 19, 2016 is CONTINUED to 11:00 a.m. on October 4, 2016. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on August 18, 2016. (lcrbw1) (Entered: 08/18/2016)
2016-08-19Set/Reset Hearings: Status Conference reset for 10/4/2016 at 11:00 AM in Courtroom 16 before Judge Reggie B. Walton. (hs) (Entered: 08/19/2016)
2016-10-04Minute Entry; for proceedings held before Judge Reggie B. Walton: Status Conference held on 10/4/2016. Status Conference set for 12/15/2016 at 11:00 AM in Courtroom 16 before Judge Reggie B. Walton. (Court Reporter Cathryn Jones) (hs) (Entered: 10/04/2016)
2016-12-1318STIPULATION of Dismissal and Settlement by JASON LEOPOLD. (Light, Jeffrey) (Entered: 12/13/2016)
2016-12-14MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the 18 Voluntary Stipulation of Settlement and Order of Dismissal, and for good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. It is further ORDERED that the status conference scheduled for December 15, 2016, is VACATED. It is further ORDERED that this case is CLOSED. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on December 14, 2016. (lcrbw1) Modified event title on 12/15/2016 (znmw). (Entered: 12/14/2016)
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