Case Detail

FOIA Project Annotation: A federal court in New York has ruled that the Department of Treasury conducted an adequate search for records concerning Sheryl Sandberg when she served as chief of staff to then Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers from 1996-2000 and has accepted the agency's explanation that Sandberg's emails were no longer accessible because of the agency's transition to a new email system in 2000. Independent journalists Alyona Minkovski and Matthew Stoller submitted a detailed request for Sandberg's records, focusing on various specific topics and individuals. The agency decided to search for Sandberg's emails during her time at Treasury, emails of current and former Treasury Secretaries listed in the request, and electronic records in the Office of the Secretary and Chief of Staff while Sandberg was working at the agency. Because it had transitioned to a new system in 2000, the agency discovered that "the majority of legacy emails sent or received prior to that time and Ms. Sandberg's entire email account were no longer maintained by Treasury and were not accessible in any form." The agency searched available emails for Treasury Secretaries listed in the request. The agency also did a keyword search using Sandberg's name, Facebook, and her book "Lean In." The agency found only one document that seemed related to the request, disclosing the record with redactions. Minkovski and Stoller argued that the agency had not shown that it searched the offices most likely to contain responsive records. The court rejected this claim, noting that "Plaintiffs' speculation, without more, is insufficient to undermine the adequacy of the Treasury's searches. [The agency's] declaration, which is presumed to have been made in good faith, provides non-suspect reasons for the methods used by the Treasury, and Plaintiffs' mere speculation is not enough to show that the Treasury acted in bad faith." The court agreed that the agency's search terms were appropriate. The court indicated that "an agency is not required to conduct every possible search and 'need not knock down every search design advanced by every requester.' Rather, it is an agency's 'burden to show that its search efforts were reasonably and logically organized to uncover relevant documents.'" Minkovski and Stoller contended that Treasury had not provided sufficient evidence to show that Treasury had properly destroyed its records or transferred them to the National Archives and Records Administration. The agency pointed out that all of Sandberg's records were more than 15 years old and, as a result, would have been transferred to NARA. The court observed that "moreover, the Treasury represents that, if it possessed any responsive document, it would have located it, and presumably the document would have been produced or the Treasury would have claimed an exemption under FOIA. Plaintiffs fail to provide any evidence contrary to the Treasury's representations."
Issues: Search - Reasonableness of search, Agency Record - Possession

Date Filed	Doc #	Docket Text
2018-02-16	1	COMPLAINT against All Defendants filing fee $ 400, receipt number 0207-10209223 Was the Disclosure Statement on Civil Cover Sheet completed -Yes,, filed by Alyona Minkovski, Matthew Stoller. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Proposed Summons, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit) (Leaf, Samuel) (Entered: 02/16/2018)
2018-02-21		Case Assigned to Judge Margo K. Brodie and Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. Please download and review the Individual Practices of the assigned Judges, located on our website . Attorneys are responsible for providing courtesy copies to judges where their Individual Practices require such. (Davis, Kimberly) (Entered: 02/21/2018)
2018-02-21	2	In accordance with Rule 73 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rule 73.1, the parties are notified that if all parties consent a United States magistrate judge of this court is available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action including a (jury or nonjury) trial and to order the entry of a final judgment. Attached to the Notice is a blank copy of the consent form that should be filled out, signed and filed electronically only if all parties wish to consent. The form may also be accessed at the following link: http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/FormsAndFees/Forms/AO085.pdf . You may withhold your consent without adverse substantive consequences . Do NOT return or file the consent unless all parties have signed the consent. (Davis, Kimberly) (Entered: 02/21/2018)
2018-02-21	3	This attorney case opening filing has been checked for quality control. See the attachment for corrections that were made, if any. (Davis, Kimberly) (Entered: 02/21/2018)
2018-02-21		NOTICE: The Proposed summons is rejected; Please see 3 . The Clerk's Office cannot issue the summons. Counsel is advised to submit completed proposed summons using the event Proposed Summons/Civil Cover Sheet. (Davis, Kimberly) (Entered: 02/21/2018)
2018-03-01	4	Proposed Summons. Re 1 Complaint, by Alyona Minkovski, Matthew Stoller (Leaf, Samuel) (Entered: 03/01/2018)
2018-03-02	5	Summons Issued as to US Department of Treasury, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Davis, Kimberly) (Entered: 03/02/2018)
2018-04-09	6	ANSWER to 1 Complaint, by US Department of Treasury. (Singh, Rukhsanah) (Entered: 04/09/2018)
2018-04-11	7	SCHEDULING ORDER: An in-person initial conference will be held at 10:30 a.m. on May 4, 2018 before the undersigned in Courtroom 13-D South. Counsel for all parties must attend. Counsel for plaintiff is directed to immediately confirm this conference date and time with defendant's counsel. Adjournment requests will not be considered unless made in accordance with this Court's Individual Rules. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold on 4/11/2018. (Attachments: # 1 Chambers Individual Rules) (Gillespie, Saudia) (Entered: 04/11/2018)
2018-05-04	8	Minute Entry: Initial Conference Hearing held on 5/4/2018 before Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. Leaf for plaintiffs, Singh for defendant. The parties request 30 days to determine whether the manner in which the case will proceed, and whether court intervention is warranted. COUNSEL SHALL SUBMIT A STATUS REPORT BY JUNE 4, 2018. The report shall suggest a date for either a further conference or an updated status report. (Gillespie, Saudia) (Entered: 05/07/2018)
2018-06-04	9	STATUS REPORT by US Department of Treasury (Singh, Rukhsanah) (Entered: 06/04/2018)
2018-06-05		STATUS REPORT ORDER: Counsel shall file a joint status report letter by June 25, 2018. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold on 6/5/2018. (Gillespie, Saudia) (Entered: 06/05/2018)
2018-06-25	10	STATUS REPORT by US Department of Treasury (Singh, Rukhsanah) (Entered: 06/25/2018)
2018-06-25		SCHEDULING ORDER: A telephone conference will be held at 12:30 p.m. on June 27, 2018 before the undersigned. Counsel for all parties must participate. Counsel for defendant is directed to arrange the call with all parties as well as immediately confirm this conference date and time with plaintiff's counsel. Adjournment requests will not be considered unless made in accordance with this Court's Individual Rules. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold on 6/25/2018. (Gillespie, Saudia) (Entered: 06/25/2018)
2018-06-27	11	Minute Entry: Telephone Conference held on 6/27/2018 before Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. Leaf for plaintiffs, Singh for defendant. Defendant will submit a letter by July 6 that proposes a time frame for producing the document(s) that plaintiffs are seeking in this action. (Gillespie, Saudia) (Entered: 06/28/2018)
2018-07-06	12	STATUS REPORT by US Department of Treasury (Singh, Rukhsanah) (Entered: 07/06/2018)
2018-07-09		SCHEDULING ORDER: A telephone conference will be held at 10:30 a.m. on July 18, 2018 before the undersigned. Counsel for all parties must participate. Counsel for plaintiff is directed to arrange the call with all parties as well as immediately confirm this conference date and time with defendant's counsel. Counsel shall be prepared to address 12 Status Report Letter. Adjournment requests will not be considered unless made in accordance with this Court's Individual Rules. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold on 7/9/2018. (Gillespie, Saudia) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
2018-07-18	13	Minute Entry: Telephone Conference held on 7/18/2018 before Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. Leaf for plaintiffs, Singh for defendant. Plaintiffs may file an amended complaint on consent by August 10; defendant reserves all affirmative defenses. Defendant will submit a premotion conference application in anticipation of moving for summary judgment by September 12, 2018. Plaintiffs reserve their right to seek discovery pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(d) before submitting opposition to the motion; defendant advises it will likely oppose such discovery if sought. (Gillespie, Saudia) (Entered: 07/18/2018)
2018-07-31	14	NOTICE of Appearance by Kathleen Anne Mahoney on behalf of All Defendants (aty to be noticed) (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 07/31/2018)
2018-08-10	15	AMENDED COMPLAINT against All Plaintiffs, filed by Alyona Minkovski, Matthew Stoller. (Leaf, Samuel) (Entered: 08/10/2018)
2018-09-12	16	ANSWER to 15 Amended Complaint by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 09/12/2018)
2018-09-12	17	Letter to Honorable Margo K. Brodie requesting pre-motion conference for contemplated motion for summary judgment by US Department of Treasury (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 09/12/2018)
2018-09-20		ORDER re 17 Letter to Honorable Margo K. Brodie requesting pre-motion conference for contemplated motion for summary judgment. Defendant's request for a Pre Motion Conference is granted in part and denied in part. The parties are directed to confer and file a proposed briefing schedule for defendant's anticipated motion. Ordered by Judge Margo K. Brodie on 9/20/2018. (Morel, Christopher) (Entered: 09/20/2018)
2018-10-02	18	Proposed Scheduling Order Letter to Honorable Margo K. Brodie setting forth proposed briefing schedule for Defendant's motion for summary judgment by US Department of Treasury (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 10/02/2018)
2018-10-03		ORDER re 18 Proposed Scheduling Order. The Court adopts the proposed briefing schedule. Defendant's motion shall be served on or before November 1, 2018; Plaintiff's opposition shall be served on or before December 3, 2018; Defendant's reply, if any, shall be served on or before December 17, 2018. Ordered by Judge Margo K. Brodie on 10/3/2018. (Morel, Christopher) (Entered: 10/03/2018)
2018-11-01	19	Letter to Plaintiff's counsel enclosing Defendant's motion for summary judgment by US Department of Treasury (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 11/01/2018)
2018-12-03	20	Letter by Alyona Minkovski, Matthew Stoller (Leaf, Samuel) (Entered: 12/03/2018)
2018-12-14	21	Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File until December 24, 2018 Defendant's Reply Memorandum of Law and to file the parties fully briefed motion by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/14/2018)
2018-12-14		ORDER granting 21 Motion for Extension of Time to File. The Court grants Defendant's request on consent. Defendant's reply shall be served on or before December 24, 2018. Ordered by Judge Margo K. Brodie on 12/14/2018. (Morel, Christopher) (Entered: 12/14/2018)
2018-12-26	22	Letter to Plaintiffs' counsel enclosing Defendant's reply by US Department of Treasury (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	23	Monthly MOTION for Summary Judgment by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	24	RULE 56.1 STATEMENT re 23 Monthly MOTION for Summary Judgment Defendant's Statement Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1 filed by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	25	AFFIDAVIT/DECLARATION in Support re 23 Monthly MOTION for Summary Judgment Declaration of Andrew B. Stein dated October 31, 2018 filed by US Department of Treasury. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D) (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	26	MEMORANDUM in Support re 24 Rule 56.1 Statement, 25 Affidavit in Support of Motion, 23 Monthly MOTION for Summary Judgment Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment filed by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	27	MEMORANDUM in Opposition re 23 Monthly MOTION for Summary Judgment Plaintiff's Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment filed by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	28	AFFIDAVIT/DECLARATION in Opposition re 23 Monthly MOTION for Summary Judgment Declaration of Samuel M. Leaf dated December 3,2018 filed by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	29	REPLY in Support re 26 Memorandum in Support, 24 Rule 56.1 Statement, 25 Affidavit in Support of Motion, 23 Monthly MOTION for Summary Judgment Reply Memorandum of Law in Further Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment filed by US Department of Treasury. (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2018-12-26	30	Letter to Honorable Margot K. Brodie enclosing courtesy copy of Defendant's fully briefed motion for summary judgment by US Department of Treasury (Mahoney, Kathleen) (Entered: 12/26/2018)
2019-04-27	31	MEMORANDUM AND ORDER granting 23 Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons set forth in the attached Memorandum and Order, the Court grants the Treasury's motion for summary judgment. Ordered by Judge Margo K. Brodie on 4/27/2019. (Morel, Christopher) (Entered: 04/27/2019)
2019-04-30	32	CLERK'S JUDGMENT, It is Ordered and Adjudged that the Treasury's Motion for Summary Judgment is granted; and that the case is closed. Signed by Douglas C. Palmer, Clerk of Court by Jalitza Poveda, Deputy Clerk 4/29/19 (Piper, Francine) (Entered: 04/30/2019)
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