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Case TitleButowsky v. U.S. Department of Justice, et al.
DistrictEastern District of Texas
CitySherman
Case Number4:2021cv00774
Date Filed2021-10-05
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeDistrict Judge Sean D. Jordan
PlaintiffEdward Butowsky
Case DescriptionEdward Butowsky submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning alleged communications between agencies and a reporter named Jake Green using a ProtonMail account. After hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, Butowsky filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Vaughn index, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantU.S. Department of Justice
DefendantU.S. Department of Homeland Security
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2021-10-051COMPLAINT against All Defendants ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number 0540-8612346.), filed by Edward Butowsky. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 (FOIA request letter), # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Clevenger, Ty) (Entered: 10/05/2021)
2021-10-05Case Assigned to District Judge Sean D. Jordan. (mcg) (Entered: 10/05/2021)
2021-10-05In accordance with the provisions of 28 USC Section 636(c), you are hereby notified that a U.S. Magistrate Judge of this district court is available to conduct any or all proceedings in this case including a jury or non-jury trial and to order the entry of a final judgment. The form Consent to Proceed Before Magistrate Judge is available on our website. All signed consent forms, excluding pro se parties, should be filed electronically using the event Notice Regarding Consent to Proceed Before Magistrate Judge . (mcg) (Entered: 10/05/2021)
2021-10-122Summons Issued as to U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney. (Attachments: # 1 Summons(es), # 2 Summons(es))(mcg) (Entered: 10/12/2021)
2021-11-233ANSWER to 1 Complaint and Affirmative Defenses by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice.(Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 11/23/2021)
2021-11-294Defendants' First Amended ANSWER to 1 Complaint and Affirmative Defenses by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice.(Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 11/29/2021)
2021-12-015REFERRAL ORDER. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 and Local Rule CV-72, the undersigned hereby REFERS the above-referenced case to U. S. Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak for all pretrial proceedings. Signed by District Judge Sean D. Jordan on 12/1/2021. (mcg) (Entered: 12/01/2021)
2021-12-086PRELIMINARY SCHEDULING ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak on 12/8/2021. (mcg) (Entered: 12/08/2021)
2022-02-047STATUS REPORT by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice. (Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 02/04/2022)
2022-04-058STATUS REPORT (Joint) by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice. (Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 04/05/2022)
2022-06-079STATUS REPORT (Joint) by U.S. Department of Justice. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 06/07/2022)
2022-06-1510ORDER. The Court sets this matter for a telephonic status conference on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. Signed by Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak on 6/15/2022. (mcg) (Entered: 06/15/2022)
2022-06-28Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak: Telephonic Status Conference held on 6/28/2022. Case called at 2:36 p.m. Ty Clevenger appeared on behalf of Plaintiff. Andrea Parker appeared on behalf of the Government. Discussion regarding production schedule for EOUSA. Court finds production shall be at 350 pages per month until complete on a date certain each month. The Parties shall file status updates every 120 days until completion of production. Upon completion of production, the Parties shall submit a proposed briefing schedule. Formal order to follow. Court adjourned at 2:41 p.m. (Court Reporter Digital.) (klee, ) (Entered: 06/29/2022)
2022-07-1211PRODUCTION SCHEDULE AND ORDER FOR STATUS UPDATES. It is ORDERED that EOUSA shall process at a rate of 350-pages per month. Production shall be made on the 27th day of each month. It is further ORDERED that the Parties shall submit joint status reports every 120 days until production is complete, with the first status report being due Monday, October 31, 2022. It is finally ORDERED that the Parties shall submit a proposed briefing schedule after all EOUSA documents are produced as directed herein. Signed by Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak on 7/12/2022. (mcg) (Entered: 07/12/2022)
2022-10-3112STATUS REPORT [Joint] by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice. (Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 10/31/2022)
2023-02-2813STATUS REPORT (Joint) by U.S. Department of Justice. (Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 02/28/2023)
2023-06-19Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett added. Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak no longer assigned to case. (lrl, 6) (Entered: 06/19/2023)
2023-10-1614ORDER. The Parties have not provided status updates for June 2023 or October 2023. It is ORDERED that the Parties shall provide the court with a status update within fourteen (14) days of the entry of this Order. The Parties shall continue to file status updates with the court in 120-day intervals in accordance with the court's July 12, 2022 Order (Dkt. # 11 ). Signed by Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett on 10/16/2023. (jmb, ) (Entered: 10/16/2023)
2023-10-3015STATUS REPORT [Joint] by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice. (Parker, Andrea) (Entered: 10/30/2023)
2024-01-2216UNOPPOSED MOTION to Stay by Edward Butowsky. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Clevenger, Ty) (Entered: 01/22/2024)
2024-01-2817ORDER. It is ORDERED that Plaintiff's Unopposed Motion for Stay (Dkt. # 16 ) is hereby GRANTED, and the case is stayed until May 31, 2024 . The Parties shall file a joint status report with the court by Friday, June 7, 2024 , which shall include a joint scheduling order if the Plaintiff intends to proceed with this lawsuit. Signed by Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett on 1/28/2024. (jmb, ) (Entered: 01/29/2024)
2024-02-0618NOTICE of Substitution of Counsel by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice (Gillingham, James) (Entered: 02/06/2024)
2024-06-0719UNOPPOSED MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by Edward Butowsky. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Clevenger, Ty) (Entered: 06/07/2024)
2024-06-1220ORDER granting 19 Motion for Extension of Time. The deadline to submit a Joint Status Report is July 9, 2024 . It is further ORDERED that the Joint Status Report should include a Joint Scheduling Order if Plaintiff intends to proceed with this lawsuit. Signed by Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett on 6/11/2024. (jmb) (Entered: 06/12/2024)
2024-06-12Set/Reset Deadlines: Status Report due by 7/9/2024. (jmb) (Entered: 06/12/2024)
2024-07-0921UNOPPOSED MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by Edward Butowsky. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Clevenger, Ty) (Entered: 07/09/2024)
2024-07-1122ORDER. It is therefore ORDERED that Plaintiff's Unopposed Motion for Extension (Dkt. 21 ) is hereby GRANTED, and the deadline to submit a Motion to Substitute and a Joint Status Report is July 30, 2024. Signed by Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett on 7/11/2024. (baf) (Entered: 07/11/2024)
2024-07-3023JOINT STATUS REPORT by U.S. Department of Justice. (Gillingham, James) (Entered: 07/30/2024)
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