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Case TitleENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT v. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2017cv01914
Date Filed2017-09-19
Date Closed2018-07-31
JudgeJudge Ketanji Brown Jackson
PlaintiffENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT
Case DescriptionThe Environmental Integrity Project submitted a FOIA request to the EPA for records concerning travel expenses for administrator Scott Pruitt and his staff. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, EIP filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit

DefendantUNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
Complaint attachment 4
Complaint attachment 5
Complaint attachment 6
Complaint attachment 7
Complaint attachment 8
Complaint attachment 9
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2017-09-191COMPLAINT against ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-5122434) filed by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Civil Cover Sheet, # 7 Summons EPA, # 8 Summons U.S. Attorney, # 9 Summons Attorney General)(Schaeffer, Eric) (Attachment 6 replaced on 9/20/2017) (js). (Attachment 6 replaced on 9/20/2017) (js). (Entered: 09/19/2017)
2017-09-19Case Assigned to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (js) (Entered: 09/20/2017)
2017-09-202Corporate Disclosure Statement by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT. (Schaeffer, Eric) (Main Document 2 replaced on 9/20/2017) (jd). Modified to replace fillable document on 9/20/2017 (jd). (Entered: 09/20/2017)
2017-09-203SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Consent Forms)(jd) (Entered: 09/20/2017)
2017-09-214MOTION for Summary Judgment by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order, # 2 Declaration of Sylvia Lam and Exhibits)(Schaeffer, Eric) (Entered: 09/21/2017)
2017-09-21MINUTE ORDER. Pending before the Court in this FOIA matter is Plaintiff's 4 Motion for Summary Judgment, in which it represents that the government has provided a date by which it "may be able to respond" to Plaintiff's FOIA request. By this motion, Plaintiff requests that this Court adopt the represented date in a judgment and scheduling order regarding the production of responsive documents. This Court declines to do so, because it considers any discussion of scheduling premature in a case in which the answer has yet to be filed, and where the government has not made any representations directly to the Court about its intent and ability to produce documents. Therefore, Plaintiff's 4 Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 09/21/2017. (lckbj1) (Entered: 09/21/2017)
2017-10-175RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 9/26/2017. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 10/26/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Certified Mail Receipt, # 2 Exhibit USPS Electronic Confirmation)(Schaeffer, Eric) (Entered: 10/17/2017)
2017-10-176RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY served on 9/25/2017 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Certified Mail Receipt, # 2 Exhibit USPS Electronic Confirmation)(Schaeffer, Eric) (Entered: 10/17/2017)
2017-10-177RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 9/26/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Certified Mail Receipt, # 2 Exhibit USPS Electronic Confirmation)(Schaeffer, Eric) (Entered: 10/17/2017)
2017-10-248NOTICE of Appearance by Daniel Patrick Schaefer on behalf of UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 10/24/2017)
2017-10-249ANSWER to Complaint by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 10/24/2017)
2017-10-25MINUTE ORDER. Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. It is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall promptly confer and file a joint proposed schedule for briefing or disclosure, on or before 11/8/2017. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 10/25/2017. (lckbj1) (Entered: 10/25/2017)
2017-11-0110ENTERED IN ERROR.....Consent to Proceed before US Magistrate Judge for All Purposes by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT. (jf) Modified on 11/6/2017 (zjf). (Entered: 11/06/2017)
2017-11-0611NOTICE to the Court by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT re 10 Consent to Proceed before US Magistrate Judge for All Purposes (Schaeffer, Eric) (Entered: 11/06/2017)
2017-11-0812Joint STATUS REPORT and Proposed Schedules by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order Defendant's Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 11/08/2017)
2017-11-14MINUTE ORDER. Upon review and consideration of the parties' submissions regarding the disputed production schedule, it is hereby ORDERED that Defendant shall complete its processing of records responsive to Plaintiffs FOIA request and shall produce non-exempt records on or before 1/16/2018, and that the parties shall file a joint status report on or before 2/2/2018, which shall contain a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 11/14/2017. (lckbj1) (Entered: 11/14/2017)
2018-02-0213Joint STATUS REPORT AND PROPOSED BRIEFING SCHEDULE by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1)(Schaeffer, Eric) (Entered: 02/02/2018)
2018-02-06MINUTE ORDER. This Court's practice is not to permit or require briefing in FOIA cases until the completion of production. Accordingly, and in light of the representations in the parties' 13 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the following deadlines are set in this matter: a joint status report is due on or before 3/5/2018; Defendant's Vaughn Index is due on or before 3/12/2018; Defendant's motion for summary judgment is due on or before 4/11/2018; Plaintiff's opposition to Defendant's motion for summary judgment is due on or before 5/9/2018; Defendant's reply in further support of its motion is due on or before 5/30/2018. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 2/6/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 02/06/2018)
2018-03-0514Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 03/05/2018)
2018-03-07MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties 14 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the following deadlines are set in this matter: a joint status report is due on or before 3/19/2018; 2018; Defendant's Vaughn Index is due on or before 3/26/2018; Defendant's motion for summary judgment is due on or before 4/11/2018; Plaintiff's consolidated cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition to Defendant's motion for summary judgment is due on or before 5/23/2018; Defendant's consolidated reply in further support of its motion and opposition to Plaintiff's cross-motion is due on or before 6/13/2018; and Plaintiff's reply in support of its cross-motion is 6/27/2018. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 03/07/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 03/07/2018)
2018-03-1915Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 03/19/2018)
2018-03-20MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 15 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the deadlines in this matter are modified as follows: Defendant's Vaughn Index is due on or before 4/11/2018, and Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is due on or before 4/25/2018. It is FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report on or before 4/18/2018. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 03/20/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 03/20/2018)
2018-04-1116Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to Briefing Schedule by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 04/11/2018)
2018-04-13MINUTE ORDER granting, for good cause shown, 16 Motion for Extension of Time. It is hereby ORDERED that at the deadlines in this matter are modified as follows: Defendant's Vaughn Index is due on or before 4/18/2018, and Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is due on or before 5/3/2018. It is FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report on or before 4/25/2018. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 04/13/2018. (lckbj1, ) (Entered: 04/13/2018)
2018-04-2517Joint STATUS REPORT by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT. (Schaeffer, Eric) (Entered: 04/25/2018)
2018-05-0218WITHDRAWN PURSUANT TO NOTICE FILED 6/13/2018 .....MOTION for Summary Judgment by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Statement of Facts, # 3 Exhibit 1, # 4 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) Modified on 6/14/2018 (jf). Modified text on 6/15/2018 (znmw). (Entered: 05/02/2018)
2018-05-2319WITHDRAWN PURSUANT TO MINUTE ORDERED ENTERED ON 6/18/18.....Cross MOTION for Summary Judgment < by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support of Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's Cross-motion for Summary Judgment, # 2 Statement of Facts and Response to Defendant's Statement of Facts, # 3 Declaration of Sylvia Lam and Supporting Exhibits, # 4 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaeffer, Eric) . Modified on 6/18/2018 (zgdf). (Entered: 05/23/2018)
2018-05-2320Memorandum in opposition to re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT. (See Docket Entry 19 to view document) (jf) (Entered: 05/29/2018)
2018-05-24NOTICE OF ERROR re 19 Motion for Summary Judgment; emailed to eschaeffer@environmentalintegrity.org, cc'd 4 associated attorneys -- The PDF file you docketed contained errors: 1. Two-part docket entry, 2. The opposition portion of your document needs to be filed. (ztd, ) (Entered: 05/24/2018)
2018-06-1321NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment and Motion to Vacate Briefing Schedule (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 06/13/2018)
2018-06-1322MOTION to Vacate Briefing Schedule by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (See Docket Entry 21 to view document). (znmw) (Entered: 06/15/2018)
2018-06-18MINUTE ORDER granting 22 Motion to Vacate Briefing Schedule. It is hereby ORDERED that EPA's 18 motion for summary judgment and EIP's 19 cross-motion for summary judgment are deemed WITHDRAWN, and that EPA's motion to vacate the remainder of the briefing schedule on the parties' previous dispositive motions is GRANTED. It isFURTHER ORDERED that EPA shall complete its supplemental search and issue a further response with all responsive records to Plaintiff's FOIA request on or before 7/13/2018. It is FURTHER ORDERED that the following schedule is set for briefing renewed motions for summary judgment: EPA's renewed motion for summary judgment is due on or before 8/8/2018; EIP's consolidated renewed cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition to EPA's renewed motion is due on or before 8/29/2018; EPA's consolidated reply in support of its renewed motion and opposition to EIP's renewed cross-motion is due on or before 9/19/2018; EIP's reply in support of its renewed cross-motion is due on or before 10/3/2018. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 06/18/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 06/18/2018)
2018-07-1323Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to Issue Further and Final Response to FOIA Request by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 07/13/2018)
2018-07-17MINUTE ORDER granting, for good cause shown, 23 Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Issue Further and Final Response to FOIA Request. It is hereby ORDERED that the EPA shall issue a further response with all responsive records to Plaintiff's FOIA request on or before 7/20/2018. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 07/17/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 07/17/2018)
2018-07-3024Joint MOTION to Vacate Briefing Schedule by UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Schaefer, Daniel) (Entered: 07/30/2018)
2018-07-31MINUTE ORDER. Where only attorneys' fees remain at issue in a FOIA case, it is the practice of this Court to close the case administratively while it awaits notice from the parties regarding settlement of the attorneys' fee or or a joint proposed schedule for briefing this remaining dispute. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that this matter be ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSED and the 24 Joint Motion to Vacate Briefing Schedule is DENIED as moot. It is FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report on or before 8/30/2018, which shall contain a proposed schedule for briefing the issue of attorneys' fees, if such briefing is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 7/31/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 07/31/2018)
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