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Case TitleAMERICAN ACCOUNTABILITY FOUNDATION v. U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2022cv00889
Date Filed2022-04-01
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Christopher R. Cooper
PlaintiffAMERICAN ACCOUNTABILITY FOUNDATION
Case DescriptionAmerican Accountability Foundation submitted 58 FOIA requests to U.S. Agency for Global Media for records concerning emails from specific individuals and subject relevant to Voice of America activity in the Middle East. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AAF filed suit.
Complaint issues: Litigation - Attorney's fees, Failure to respond within statutory time limit

Defendant2255
U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA
300 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20237
DefendantU.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2022-04-011COMPLAINT against U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-9144759) filed by AMERICAN ACCOUNTABILITY FOUNDATION. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons)(Butcher, Jared) (Entered: 04/01/2022)
2022-04-012MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice :Attorney Name- Blake W. Meadows, Filing fee $ 100, receipt number ADCDC-9144803. Fee Status: Fee Paid. by AMERICAN ACCOUNTABILITY FOUNDATION. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration, # 2 Text of Proposed Order)(Butcher, Jared) (Entered: 04/01/2022)
2022-04-05Case Assigned to Judge Christopher R. Cooper. (zmh) (Entered: 04/05/2022)
2022-04-05NOTICE OF ERROR re 1 Complaint; emailed to jared.butcher@crosscastle.com, cc'd 0 associated attorneys -- The PDF file you docketed contained errors: 1. Missing summonses-government. When naming a government agent or agency as a defendant, you must supply a summons for each defendant & two additional summonses for the U.S. Attorney & U.S. Attorney General. Please submit using the event Request for Summons to Issue. (zmh, ) (Entered: 04/05/2022)
2022-04-053REQUEST FOR SUMMONS TO ISSUE filed by AMERICAN ACCOUNTABILITY FOUNDATION. (Attachments: # 1 Summons Summons US Attorney - DC, # 2 Summons Summons US Attorney General, # 3 Summons Summons for Defendant)(Butcher, Jared) (Entered: 04/05/2022)
2022-04-064SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(znmw) (Entered: 04/06/2022)
2022-04-06MINUTE ORDER granting 2 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice. Attorney Blake W. Meadows is hereby admitted pro hac vice to appear in this matter. Counsel should register for e-filing via PACER and file a notice of appearance pursuant to LCvR 83.6(a). Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 4/6/2022. (lccrc2) (Entered: 04/06/2022)
2022-04-145NOTICE of Appearance by Blake Meadows on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Meadows, Blake) (Entered: 04/14/2022)
2022-04-146RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA served on 4/12/2022 (Meadows, Blake) (Entered: 04/14/2022)
2022-04-147RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 4/12/2022. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 5/12/2022. (Meadows, Blake) (Entered: 04/14/2022)
2022-04-148RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 4/12/2022. (Meadows, Blake) (Entered: 04/14/2022)
2022-05-119NOTICE of Appearance by Erika Kirstie Oblea on behalf of All Defendants (Oblea, Erika) (Entered: 05/11/2022)
2022-05-1110Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer re 1 Complaint or Otherwise Respond to Complaint by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Oblea, Erika) (Entered: 05/11/2022)
2022-05-12MINUTE ORDER granting 10 Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to Complaint. Defendant shall answer or otherwise respond to the complaint by June 13, 2022. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 5/12/2022. (lccrc2) (Entered: 05/12/2022)
2022-06-1311ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA.(Oblea, Erika) (Entered: 06/13/2022)
2022-06-15MINUTE ORDER: Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. It is hereby ORDERED that the parties promptly confer and file a joint proposed schedule for briefing or disclosure by 6/29/2022. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 6/15/2022. (lccrc2) (Entered: 06/15/2022)
2022-06-2912Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (Oblea, Erika) (Entered: 06/29/2022)
2022-07-05MINUTE ORDER: In light of the parties' 12 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file a further joint status report by August 26, 2022. That report shall include additional details about the status of any searches related to the plaintiff's FOIA requests, the defendant's progress in identifying responsive documents, and the anticipated timeline for response. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 7/5/2022. (lccrc2) (Entered: 07/05/2022)
2022-07-3113NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF APPEARANCE as to AMERICAN ACCOUNTABILITY FOUNDATION. Attorney Jared R. Butcher terminated. (Butcher, Jared) (Entered: 07/31/2022)
2022-08-2614Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (Oblea, Erika) (Entered: 08/26/2022)
2022-08-29MINUTE ORDER: In light of the parties' 14 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file a further joint status report by September 26, 2022. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 8/29/2022. (lccrc2) (Entered: 08/29/2022)
2022-09-2615Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (Oblea, Erika) (Entered: 09/26/2022)
2022-09-26MINUTE ORDER: In light of the parties' 15 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file a further joint status report by November 10, 2022. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 9/26/2022. (lccrc2) (Entered: 09/26/2022)
2022-10-3116NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Christina O'Tousa on behalf of U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA Substituting for attorney Erika Oblea (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 10/31/2022)
2022-11-1017Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 11/10/2022)
2022-11-15MINUTE ORDER: In light of the parties' 17 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file a further joint status report by February 8, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 11/15/2022. (lccrc2) (Entered: 11/15/2022)
2023-02-0818Joint MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 02/08/2023)
2023-02-10MINUTE ORDER granting the parties' 18 Motion for Extension of Time to File a Joint Status Report. The parties shall file a joint status report by February 15, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 2/10/2023. (lccrc2) (Entered: 02/10/2023)
2023-02-1519Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 02/15/2023)
2023-02-17MINUTE ORDER: In light of the parties' 19 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file a further status report by May 16, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 2/17/2023. (lccrc2) (Entered: 02/17/2023)
2023-03-1720NOTICE of Change of Address by Blake Meadows (Meadows, Blake) (Entered: 03/17/2023)
2023-05-1621Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 05/16/2023)
2023-05-19MINUTE ORDER: The parties shall appear for the status conference in this matter on July 13, 2023 at 2:00 PM, to be held virtually before Judge Christopher Cooper. Instructions for connecting to the hearing will be provided separately. By July 10, 2023, the parties shall file a joint status report describing the 58 FOIA requests at issue; any agreements to narrow the requests; and the status of the agency's review and production efforts, including the number of pages of responsive documents that remain to be reviewed, the pace of production, and expected completion dates. Agency counsel is encouraged to attend the status conference. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 5/19/2023. (lccrc2) (Entered: 05/19/2023)
2023-07-0922Joint MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report , Joint MOTION to Modify Status Conference Date by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 07/09/2023)
2023-07-11MINUTE ORDER granting the parties' 22 Motion for Extension of Time to File a Joint Status Report and granting the parties' 22 Motion to Modify the Hearing Schedule. The status conference set for July 13 is VACATED. The parties shall appear for a status conference in this matter on July 26, 2023 at 2:30 PM, to be held virtually before Judge Christopher Cooper. Instructions for connecting to the hearing will be provided separately. By July 24, 2023, the parties shall file a joint status report describing the 58 FOIA requests at issue; any agreements to narrow the requests; and the status of the agency's review and production efforts, including the number of pages of responsive documents that remain to be reviewed, the pace of production, and expected completion dates. Agency counsel is encouraged to attend the status conference. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 7/11/2023. (lccrc2) (Entered: 07/11/2023)
2023-07-2423Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Overview of the 58 FOIA Requests)(O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 07/24/2023)
2023-07-26MINUTE ORDER: As discussed during the July 26, 2023 status conference, the parties shall submit a status report on their progress by September 25, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 7/26/2023. (lccrc2) (Entered: 07/26/2023)
2023-07-26Minute Entry for video Status Conference held before Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 7/26/2023. Forthcoming Order. (Court Reporter: Lisa Moreira) (lsj) (Entered: 07/26/2023)
2023-09-2524Joint MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 09/25/2023)
2023-09-27MINUTE ORDER granting the parties' 24 Motion for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report. The parties shall file a joint status report by October 5, 2023. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 9/27/2023. (lccrc2) (Entered: 09/27/2023)
2023-10-0525Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 10/05/2023)
2023-10-10MINUTE ORDER: In light of the parties' 25 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file a further joint status report by January 5, 2024. The parties shall submit a proposed briefing schedule with their next status report in the event that disputes remain. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/10/2023. (lccrc2) (Entered: 10/10/2023)
2024-01-0526Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report by AMERICAN ACCOUNTABILITY FOUNDATION. (Meadows, Blake) (Entered: 01/05/2024)
2024-01-08MINUTE ORDER granting 26 Plaintiff's Motion for Extension of Time to File Joint Status Report. The parties shall file a joint status report by January 19, 2024. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 1/8/2024. (lccrc2) (Entered: 01/08/2024)
2024-01-1927Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA. (O'Tousa, Christina) (Entered: 01/19/2024)
2024-01-22MINUTE ORDER: In light of the parties' 27 Joint Status Report, the parties shall file a further joint status report by April 18, 2024. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 1/22/2024. (lccrc2) (Entered: 01/22/2024)
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