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Case TitlePRIVACY INTERNATIONAL v. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY et al
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2017cv01324
Date Filed2017-07-05
Date Closed2019-02-26
JudgeJudge Dabney L. Friedrich
PlaintiffPRIVACY INTERNATIONAL
Case DescriptionPrivacy International submitted FOIA requests to the National Security Agency and the other members of the intelligence community for records concerning the agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to exchange signals intelligence. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests, but after hearing nothing further from any of the agencies, Privacy International filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantNATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
DefendantOFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
DefendantDEPARTMENT OF STATE
DefendantNATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
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

2017-07-051COMPLAINT against All Defendants ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-5017745) filed by PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Civil Cover Sheet, # 4 Summons to National Security Agency, # 5 Summons to Office of the Director of National Intelligence, # 6 Summons to Department of State, # 7 Summons to National Archives and Records Administration, # 8 Summons to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, # 9 Summons to United States Attorney for the District of Columbia)(Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Entered: 07/05/2017)
2017-07-05Case Assigned to Judge Amit P. Mehta. (sth) (Entered: 07/05/2017)
2017-07-052SUMMONS (6) Issued Electronically as to DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Summons, # 2 Summons, # 3 Summons, # 4 Summons, # 5 Summons, # 6 Summons)(sth) (Entered: 07/05/2017)
2017-08-163RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 7/20/2017. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 8/19/2017. (Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Main Document 3 replaced on 8/17/2017) (znmw). (Entered: 08/16/2017)
2017-08-164RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 07/20/2017. (Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Main Document 4 replaced on 8/17/2017) (znmw). (Entered: 08/16/2017)
2017-08-165RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY served on 7/18/2017 (Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Main Document 5 replaced on 8/17/2017) (znmw). (Entered: 08/16/2017)
2017-08-166RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE served on 7/20/2017 (Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Main Document 6 replaced on 8/17/2017) (znmw). (Entered: 08/16/2017)
2017-08-167RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION served on 7/31/2017 (Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Main Document 7 replaced on 8/17/2017) (znmw). (Entered: 08/16/2017)
2017-08-168RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. DEPARTMENT OF STATE served on 8/14/2017 (Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Main Document 8 replaced on 8/17/2017) (znmw). (Entered: 08/16/2017)
2017-08-219ANSWER to Complaint by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G, # 8 Exhibit H, # 9 Exhibit I, # 10 Exhibit J, # 11 Exhibit K, # 12 Exhibit L, # 13 Exhibit M)(Anderson, Caroline) (Entered: 08/21/2017)
2017-08-2110ORDER: Both a Complaint and an Answer are now before the court in this FOIA case. It is hereby ordered that the parties shall meet and confer and file a Joint Status Report on or before September 5, 2017. See attached Order for additional details. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 08/21/2017. (lcapm3) (Entered: 08/21/2017)
2017-08-21Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Joint Status Report due by 9/5/2017. (zcdw) (Entered: 08/22/2017)
2017-09-0511Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. (Anderson, Caroline) (Entered: 09/05/2017)
2017-09-05MINUTE ORDER: In light of 11 the parties' Joint Status Report, the parties shall submit a subsequent Joint Status Report on or before October 5, 2017. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 09/05/2017. (lcapm3) (Entered: 09/05/2017)
2017-10-0512Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. (Anderson, Caroline) (Entered: 10/05/2017)
2017-10-06MINUTE ORDER: In light of 12 the parties' Joint Status Report, the parties shall submit a subsequent Joint Status Report on or before December 5, 2017. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 10/06/2017. (lcapm3) (Entered: 10/06/2017)
2017-10-06Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Joint Status Report due by 12/5/2017. (zcdw) (Entered: 10/07/2017)
2017-12-05Case directly reassigned to Judge Dabney L. Friedrich. Judge Amit P. Mehta is no longer assigned to the case. (ztnr) (Entered: 12/05/2017)
2017-12-0513Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. (Anderson, Caroline) (Entered: 12/05/2017)
2017-12-15MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 13 Joint Status Report, the parties shall submit a subsequent Joint Status Report on or before February 5, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on December 15, 2017. (JPF) (Entered: 12/15/2017)
2018-01-2914NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Marcia Kay Sowles on behalf of All Defendants Substituting for attorney Caroline J. Anderson (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 01/29/2018)
2018-02-0515Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 02/05/2018)
2018-02-05MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 15 Joint Status Report, a subsequent Joint Status Report addressing productions by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of State shall be submitted on or before March 2, 2018. A subsequent Joint Status Report addressing productions by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) shall be submitted on or before April 6, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on February 5, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 02/05/2018)
2018-03-0216Joint STATUS REPORT by PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL. (Bloch-Wehba, Hannah) (Entered: 03/02/2018)
2018-03-05MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 16 Joint Status Report, a subsequent status report addressing productions by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of State shall be submitted on or before April 6, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on March 5, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 03/05/2018)
2018-04-0617Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 04/06/2018)
2018-04-12MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the positions set forth by the parties in the 17 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report on or before May 18, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on April 12, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 04/12/2018)
2018-05-1818Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 05/18/2018)
2018-05-21MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 18 Joint Status Report, a subsequent Joint Status Report addressing productions by the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of State and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) shall be submitted on or before June 29, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on May 21, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 05/21/2018)
2018-06-2919Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 06/29/2018)
2018-07-06MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 19 Joint Status Report, a Joint Status Report addressing productions by the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of State, and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) shall be submitted on or before August 10, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on July 6, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 07/06/2018)
2018-08-0920NOTICE of Appearance by David A. Schulz on behalf of PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL (Schulz, David) (Entered: 08/09/2018)
2018-08-1021Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 08/10/2018)
2018-08-10MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the 21 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties shall submit another joint status report on or before October 19, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on August 10, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 08/10/2018)
2018-08-10Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Joint Status Report due by 10/19/2018. (jl) (Entered: 08/13/2018)
2018-10-0322NOTICE of Change of Address by Marcia Kay Sowles (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 10/03/2018)
2018-10-1923Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 10/19/2018)
2018-10-19MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' 23 Joint Status Report it is ORDERED that the parties shall submit another joint status report on or before November 16, 2018. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on October 19, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 10/19/2018)
2018-11-1624Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 11/16/2018)
2018-11-20MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' 24 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties shall submit another joint status report on or before January 18, 2019. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on November 20, 2018. (JK) (Entered: 11/20/2018)
2019-01-1725Unopposed MOTION to Stay Due to Lapse in Appropriations by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 01/17/2019)
2019-01-17MINUTE ORDER granting in part the defendants' 25 Motion for a Stay of Order in Light of Lapse of Appropriations. It is ORDERED that the parties shall confer and file a joint status report within seven days of Congress restoring appropriations to the Department of Justice. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on January 17, 2019. (JK) (Entered: 01/17/2019)
2019-02-0426Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. (Sowles, Marcia) (Entered: 02/04/2019)
2019-02-04MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' 26 Joint Status Report, it is ORDERED that the parties shall submit a joint status report or a joint stipulation of dismissal on or before February 25, 2019. Signed by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on February 4, 2019. (JK) (Entered: 02/04/2019)
2019-02-2227NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL (Schulz, David) (Entered: 02/22/2019)
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