Case Detail

FOIA Project Annotation: Judge Amit Mehta has ruled that the DEA did not conduct an adequate search for records concerning the proposed reclassification of carisoprodol as well as the rescheduling of hydrocodone because it failed to search the office of the Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Diversion Control once it uncovered a document indicating that the office probably had responsive records. John Coleman, who had served as DEA Assistant Administrator for Operations before he retired and now headed Drug Watch International, an organization dedicated to drug abuse prevention and education, made the FOIA request. He asked for a fee waiver, which was denied. Coleman appealed to OIP, which remanded the decision back to DEA for reconsideration. DEA once again denied Coleman's request for a fee waiver, but once it finally started processing his request, it decided it could not charge fees because it had missed the statutory deadline for responding. As a result, the agency disclosed 1,906 pages and an additional 79 pages several weeks later without charging any fees. Coleman challenged the adequacy of the agency's search. He also argued that the agency had a policy and practice of denying him fee waivers. DEA searched only two offices and Mehta found the agency's explanation for its search was sufficient. But he agreed with Coleman that letters sent by the Deputy Assistant Administrator in 1996 and 2004 to the Department of Health and Human Services appointing the Deputy Assistant Administrator as a liaison with HHS for information exchanges about the two drugs constituted clear leads as to potentially responsive records that the agency could not ignore. He noted that "the Deputy Assistant Administrator, therefore, at some point, likely came into possession of material responsive to Plaintiff's FOIA request. As a result, the DEA simply could not ignore that office, absent a specific reason not to conduct a search there. The DEA presented no such reason on this record." He added that "even though the DEA's original assumption about where documents might be found was reasonable, once it located the 1996 and 2004 Letters, it had an obligation to follow the lead that the Letters presented and search the Deputy Assistant Administrator's office. . ." Mehta rejected Coleman's contention that the search was inadequate because so few emails had been found. He observed that "plaintiff's experience at the DEA and his expectation that his request would produce emails, standing alone, cannot overcome the 'presumption of good faith' that must be accorded the agency's declarations." Mehta found Coleman had not shown that he faced any future injury as a result of the agency's failure to grant him a fee waiver in this case. He pointed out that "plaintiff undoubtedly suffered injury caused by the DEA's refusal to grant him a fee waiverâ€"the denial resulted in a substantial delay in his receipt of responsive material. That injury, however, occurred in the past. And past injury does not automatically portend future injury and confer standing to seek injunctive relief."
Issues: Search - Reasonableness of search, Public Interest Fee Waiver

Date Filed	Doc #	Docket Text
2014-02-26	1	COMPLAINT against DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-3634907) filed by JOHN B. COLEMAN. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet)(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 02/26/2014)
2014-02-26	2	AMENDED COMPLAINT against DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION filed by JOHN B. COLEMAN.(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 02/26/2014)
2014-02-26		SUMMONS NOT ISSUED as to DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General. (md, ) (Entered: 02/26/2014)
2014-02-26		Case Assigned to Judge Richard J. Leon. (md, ) (Entered: 02/26/2014)
2014-02-27	3	REQUEST FOR SUMMONS TO ISSUE by JOHN B. COLEMAN filed by JOHN B. COLEMAN.(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 02/27/2014)
2014-02-28	4	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS (3) Issued as to DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(znmw, ) (Entered: 02/28/2014)
2014-04-08	5	STANDING ORDER. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 4/8/2014. (lcrjl1, ) (Entered: 04/08/2014)
2014-04-25	6	NOTICE of Appearance by Mitchell P. Zeff on behalf of DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (Zeff, Mitchell) (Entered: 04/25/2014)
2014-04-27	7	Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to Answer or Otherwise Respond to Plaintiff's Amended Complaint by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Zeff, Mitchell) (Entered: 04/27/2014)
2014-04-28		MINUTE ORDER granting 7 Defendant's Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to Plaintiff's Amended Complaint. It is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that defendant shall have until 5/28/2014 to respond to plaintiff's amended complaint. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 4/28/2014. (lcrjl1, ) (Entered: 04/28/2014)
2014-04-28		Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer due by 5/28/2014. (tb, ) (Entered: 04/28/2014)
2014-05-28	8	ANSWER to 2 Amended Complaint by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. Related document: 2 Amended Complaint filed by JOHN B. COLEMAN.(Zeff, Mitchell) (Entered: 05/28/2014)
2014-06-09	9	Joint MOTION for Order to Set Briefing Schedule by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Zeff, Mitchell) (Entered: 06/09/2014)
2014-06-28		MINUTE ORDER granting 9 Joint Motion for Order to Set Briefing Schedule. It is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that the following schedule shall govern the above-captioned case: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment due by 8/4/2014; Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment/Opposition to Defendant's Motion due by 9/18/2014; Defendant's Reply Brief/Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion due by 9/24/2014;Plaintiff's Reply Brief due by 10/17/2014. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 6/28/2014. (lcrjl1, ) (Entered: 06/28/2014)
2014-07-01		Set/Reset Deadlines: Cross Motions due by 9/18/2014. Response to Cross Motions due by 9/24/2014. Reply to Cross Motions due by 10/17/2014. Summary Judgment motions due by 8/4/2014. Response to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 9/18/2014. Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 9/24/2014. (tb, ) (Entered: 07/01/2014)
2014-07-02	10	Joint MOTION for Order (Corrected) by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Zeff, Mitchell) (Entered: 07/02/2014)
2014-07-06		MINUTE ORDER granting 10 Corrected Joint Motion for Order to Set Briefing Schedule. It is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that the following schedule shall govern the above-captioned case: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment due by 8/4/2014; Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment/Opposition to Defendant's Motion due by 9/8/2014; Defendant's Reply Brief/Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion due by 9/25/2014; Plaintiff's Reply Brief due by 10/17/2014. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 7/6/2014. (lcrjl1, ) (Entered: 07/06/2014)
2014-07-06		Set/Reset Deadlines: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is due by 8/4/2014; Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Defendant's Motion is due by 9/8/2014; Defendant's Reply Brief and Opposition to Plaintiff's Cross-Motion is due by 9/25/2014; Plaintiff's Reply in support of their Cross-Motion is due by 10/17/2014. (jth) (Entered: 07/06/2014)
2014-07-25	11	Joint MOTION for Order to Revise Briefing Schedule by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Zeff, Mitchell) (Entered: 07/25/2014)
2014-07-25		MINUTE ORDER granting 11 Joint Motion for Order to Revise Briefing Schedule. It is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that the following schedule shall govern the above-captioned case: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment due by 9/3/2014; Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment/Opposition to Defendant's Motion due by 10/10/2014; Defendant's Reply Brief/Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion due by 10/27/2014; Plaintiff's Reply Brief due by 11/21/2014. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 7/25/2014. (lcrjl1, ) (Entered: 07/25/2014)
2014-07-28	12	NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Rhonda Lisa Campbell on behalf of DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION Substituting for attorney Mitchell P. Zeff (Campbell, Rhonda) (Entered: 07/28/2014)
2014-07-28		Set/Reset Deadlines: Cross Motions due by 10/10/2014. Response to Cross Motions due by 10/27/2014. Reply to Cross Motions due by 11/21/2014. Summary Judgment motions due by 9/23/2014. Response to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 10/10/2014. Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 10/27/2014. (tb, ) (Entered: 07/28/2014)
2014-08-29	13	Joint MOTION to Stay re Set/Reset Deadlines, by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (Campbell, Rhonda) (Entered: 08/29/2014)
2014-09-02		MINUTE ORDER granting 13 Joint Motion to Stay Proceedings. It is hereby ORDERED that the above captioned case is STAYED. It is further ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report on 10/27/2014 informing the Court of their progress toward resolution of the case. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 9/2/2014. (lcrjl1) Modified on 9/3/2014 (tb, ). (Entered: 09/02/2014)
2014-09-03		Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 10/27/2014. (tb, ) (Entered: 09/03/2014)
2014-10-27	14	STATUS REPORT Joint Status Report by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. (Campbell, Rhonda) (Entered: 10/27/2014)
2014-11-04	15	ORDER: Upon consideration of the defendant's 14 Status Report filed by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION ; it is hereby ordered that the proceedings in this case are stayed. The Parties shall file a Joint Status Report on December 3, 2014 informing the Court of defendant's progress toward resolution of the case. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 11/04/14. (tb, ) (Entered: 11/05/2014)
2014-11-04		Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 12/3/2014. (tb, ) (Entered: 11/05/2014)
2014-12-03	16	STATUS REPORT Joint by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. (Campbell, Rhonda) (Entered: 12/03/2014)
2014-12-08		MINUTE SCHEDULING ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' Joint Report, for good cause shown, and the entire record herein, it is hereby ORDERED that defendant shall file its motion for summary judgment on or before 1/20/2015; plaintiff shall file his opposition and cross-motion for summary judgment on or before 2/20/2015; defendant shall file its reply and opposition on or before 3/20/2015; plaintiff shall file his reply on or before 4/20/2015. Signed by Judge Richard J. Leon on 12/8/2014. (lcrjl1, ) (Entered: 12/08/2014)
2014-12-11		Set/Reset Deadlines: Cross Motions due by 2/20/2015. Response to Cross Motions due by 3/20/2015. Reply to Cross Motions due by 4/20/2015. Summary Judgment motions due by 1/20/2015. Response to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 2/20/2015. Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 3/20/2015. (tb, ) (Entered: 12/11/2014)
2014-12-24		Case randomly reassigned to Judge Amit P. Mehta. Judge Richard J. Leon no longer assigned to the case. (zgt, ) (Entered: 12/24/2014)
2015-01-20	17	MOTION for Summary Judgment by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Statement of Facts, # 3 Declaration Katherine L. Myrick, # 4 Exhibit)(Campbell, Rhonda) (Entered: 01/20/2015)
2015-02-20	18	RESPONSE re 17 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by JOHN B. COLEMAN. (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts, # 2 Declaration Declaration of John Coleman & Exhibits A - C, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 02/20/2015)
2015-02-20	19	MOTION for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Law by JOHN B. COLEMAN (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts, # 2 Declaration Declaration of John Coleman & Exhibits A - C, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 02/20/2015)
2015-02-20	20	RESPONSE re 17 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Corrected Filing) filed by JOHN B. COLEMAN. (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts, # 2 Declaration Declaration of John Coleman & Exhibits A - C, # 3 Declaration Declaration of Daniel J. Stotter, # 4 Text of Proposed Order)(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 02/20/2015)
2015-02-20	21	MOTION for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Points and Authorities (Corrected Filing) by JOHN B. COLEMAN (Attachments: # 1 Statement of Facts, # 2 Declaration Declaration of John Coleman & Exhibits A - C, # 3 Declaration Declaration of Daniel J. Stotter, # 4 Text of Proposed Order)(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 02/20/2015)
2015-03-20	22	REPLY to opposition to motion re 17 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Supplemental Declaration of Karen Myrick)(Campbell, Rhonda) Modified on 3/23/2015 (rdj). (Entered: 03/20/2015)
2015-03-20	23	Memorandum in opposition to re 21 MOTION for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Points and Authorities (Corrected Filing) filed by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. (See docket entry 22 to view document)(rdj) (Entered: 03/23/2015)
2015-03-23		NOTICE OF ERROR re 22 Reply to opposition to Motion; emailed to rhonda.campbell@usdoj.gov, cc'd 2 associated attorneys -- The PDF file you docketed contained errors: 1. Two-part docket entry, 2. Counsel IS REMINDED to DOCKET the opposition as a separate entry. NO ACTION REQUIRED (zrdj, ) (Entered: 03/23/2015)
2015-04-20	24	REPLY to opposition to motion re 21 MOTION for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Points and Authorities (Corrected Filing) filed by JOHN B. COLEMAN. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Supplemental Declaration of John Coleman and Exhibits D - E)(Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 04/20/2015)
2015-09-29	25	MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER granting in part and denying in part 17 Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and granting in part and denying in part 19 21 Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 09/29/2015. (lcapm2) (Entered: 09/29/2015)
2015-11-02	26	NOTICE to the Court by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION re 25 Memorandum & Opinion, (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Supplemental Declaration and Exhibit)(Campbell, Rhonda) (Entered: 11/02/2015)
2015-11-03		MINUTE ORDER: In light of the 26 Notice filed with the court on November 2, 2015, on or before November 17, 2015, Plaintiff shall file a status report indicating whether he intends to challenge the adequacy of Defendant's additional search or whether this matter can be closed. If Plaintiff intends to challenge the search, he shall meet and confer with Defendant and the status report shall set forth a proposed briefing schedule. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 11/03/2015. (lcapm3) (Entered: 11/03/2015)
2015-11-03		Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Plaintiff's Status Report due by 11/17/2015. (cdw) (Entered: 11/04/2015)
2015-11-16	27	STATUS REPORT by JOHN B. COLEMAN. (Stotter, Daniel) (Entered: 11/16/2015)
2015-11-17		MINUTE ORDER: In light of 27 Plaintiff's Status Report filed on November 16, 2015, the parties are hereby directed, under LCvR 54.2, to meet and confer to attempt to reach agreement as to attorneys' fees. The parties shall file a joint status report no later than January 19, 2016 advising the court as to whether the parties have reached agreement on the fees issue. If there is no resolution, the status report shall set forth a schedule for filing a motion under Rule 54(d)(2)((B) and subsequent briefing. The time is hereby extended until January 19, 2016 for Plaintiff to file a motion under Rule 54(d)(2)(B). The court will set a status conference upon completion of briefing. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 11/17/2015. (lcapm3) (Entered: 11/17/2015)
2015-11-17		Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Joint Status Report due by 1/19/2016. (cdw) (Entered: 11/18/2015)
2015-12-17	28	STIPULATION of Dismissal by DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. (Campbell, Rhonda) (Entered: 12/17/2015)
2015-12-17	29	ORDER entering Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal. Please see the attached Order for additional details. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 12/17/2015. (lcapm3) (Entered: 12/17/2015)
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