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Case TitleOakes v. United States Department of Defense
DistrictSouthern District of New York
CityFoley Square
Case Number1:2022cv02973
Date Filed2022-04-11
Date Closed2023-06-27
JudgeJudge Lewis J. Liman
PlaintiffCameron Oakes
Case DescriptionCameron Oakes, a freelance journalist, submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Defense for records concerning contracts and proposals related to the recruitment process. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing substantive in response to her requests, Oakes filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantUnited States Department of Defense
Documents
Docket
Complaint
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2022-04-111COMPLAINT against United States Department of Defense. (Filing Fee $ 402.00, Receipt Number ANYSDC-25991501)Document filed by Cameron Oakes..(Baldino, Raymond) (Entered: 04/11/2022)
2022-04-12***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY TO ELECTRONICALLY FILE CIVIL COVER SHEET. Notice to Attorney Raymond Baldino. Attorney must electronically file the Civil Cover Sheet. Use the event type Civil Cover Sheet found under the event list Other Documents. (vf) (Entered: 04/12/2022)
2022-04-12CASE OPENING INITIAL ASSIGNMENT NOTICE: The above-entitled action is assigned to Judge Lewis J. Liman. Please download and review the Individual Practices of the assigned District Judge, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/judges/district-judges . Attorneys are responsible for providing courtesy copies to judges where their Individual Practices require such. Please download and review the ECF Rules and Instructions, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-related-instructions . .(vf) (Entered: 04/12/2022)
2022-04-12Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn is so designated. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)(1) parties are notified that they may consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge. Parties who wish to consent may access the necessary form at the following link: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/AO-3.pdf . (vf) (Entered: 04/12/2022)
2022-04-12Case Designated ECF. (vf) (Entered: 04/12/2022)
2022-04-132CIVIL COVER SHEET filed..(Baldino, Raymond) (Entered: 04/13/2022)
2022-04-143REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to United States Department of Defense, re: 1 Complaint. Document filed by Cameron Oakes..(Baldino, Raymond) (Entered: 04/14/2022)
2022-04-154ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to United States Department of Defense..(lal) (Entered: 04/15/2022)
2022-05-205NOTICE OF INITIAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE: It is hereby: ORDERED that counsel for all parties appear for an Initial Pretrial Conference by TELEPHONE on June 30, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. Parties are directed to dial into the Court's teleconference number at 888-251-2909, Access Code 2123101, and follow the necessary prompts. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, by one week prior to the conference, the parties jointly submit to the Court a proposed Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order. A template is available at https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-lewis-j-liman. This document should be filed electronically on ECF, consistent with the Court's Individual Practices in Civil Cases, which are available on the same webpage. Parties should consult the Individual Practices for guidance on the matters to be discussed at the Initial Pretrial Conference and for the Court's rules with respect to communications with Chambers and other procedural matters. Counsel for Plaintiff is ordered to notify Defendant of this Notice. SO ORDERED. ( Initial Conference set for 6/30/2022 at 02:00 PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman.) (Signed by Judge Lewis J. Liman on 5/20/22) (yv) (Entered: 05/20/2022)
2022-05-256NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Natasha Waglow Teleanu on behalf of United States Department of Defense..(Teleanu, Natasha) (Entered: 05/25/2022)
2022-05-257LETTER MOTION for Extension of Time from Natasha W. Teleanu dated 5/25/2022. Document filed by United States Department of Defense..(Teleanu, Natasha) (Entered: 05/25/2022)
2022-05-268ORDER granting 7 Letter Motion for Extension of Time (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Lewis J. Liman)(Text Only Order) (Liman, Lewis) (Entered: 05/26/2022)
2022-06-019LETTER MOTION to Adjourn Conference Initial Pretrial Conference addressed to Judge Lewis J. Liman from Raymond M. Baldino dated June 1, 2022. Document filed by Cameron Oakes..(Baldino, Raymond) (Entered: 06/01/2022)
2022-06-0110ORDER granting 9 Letter Motion to Adjourn Conference. The Initial Pretrial Conference is rescheduled to July 15, 2022 at 2:00PM. Parties are directed to dial into the Court's teleconference line at 888-251-2909 and use access code 2123101. Parties are reminded to jointly submit, by one week prior to the conference, a proposed Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order consistent with the Court's individual practices. Initial Conference set for 7/15/2022 at 02:00 PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Lewis J. Liman)(Text Only Order) (mf) (Entered: 06/01/2022)
2022-06-1611ANSWER to 1 Complaint. Document filed by United States Department of Defense..(Teleanu, Natasha) (Entered: 06/16/2022)
2022-07-0712JOINT LETTER addressed to Judge Lewis J. Liman from Natasha W. Teleanu dated July 7, 2022 re: proposed case management plan/scheduling order and initial conference. Document filed by United States Department of Defense..(Teleanu, Natasha) (Entered: 07/07/2022)
2022-07-0813MEMO ENDORSEMENT on re: 12 Letter filed by United States Department of Defense. ENDORSEMENT: The request is GRANTED. The initial pretrial conference is adjourned to August 26, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. The parties are directed to dial in to the Court's teleconference line using the dial-in information provided on the docket. SO ORDERED. ( Initial Conference set for 8/26/2022 at 3:00 PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman.) (Signed by Judge Lewis J. Liman on 7/8/2022) (vfr) (Entered: 07/08/2022)
2022-07-2914STATUS REPORT. Document filed by United States Department of Defense..(Teleanu, Natasha) (Entered: 07/29/2022)
2022-08-26Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Lewis J. Liman: Initial Pretrial Conference held on 8/26/2022 by Telephone Conference. Raymond Baldino present by telephone for Plaintiff. Natasha Teleanu present by telephone for Defendant. Court reporter present. Next Telephonic Status Conference set for October 27, 2022 at 2:00PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (mf) (Entered: 08/26/2022)
2022-08-26Set/Reset Hearings: Telephonic Status Conference set for 10/27/2022 at 02:00 PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (mf) (Entered: 08/26/2022)
2022-10-1315PROPOSED ORDER FOR SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY. Document filed by United States Department of Defense..(Onozawa, Tomoko) (Entered: 10/13/2022)
2022-10-1716CONSENT ORDER GRANTING SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY: Notice is hereby given that, subject to approval by the court, defendant U.S. Dep't of Defense substitutes Tomoko Onozawa as counsel of record in place of Natasha Waglow Teleanu. The substitution of attorney is hereby approved and so ORDERED. Attorney Tomoko Onozawa for United States Department of Defense added. Attorney Natasha Waglow Teleanu terminated. (Signed by Judge Lewis J. Liman on 10/17/2022) (vfr) (Entered: 10/17/2022)
2022-10-27Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Lewis J. Liman: Telephone Conference held on 10/27/2022. Raymond Baldino present by telephone for Plaintiff. Tomoko Onozawa present by telephone for Defendant. Parties are to submit a joint status letter by 5:00PM on January 31, 2023 indicating status of production and parties positions about deadline for summary judgment motions. Next Telephonic Status Conference set for February 2, 2023 at 12:00PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (mf) (Entered: 10/31/2022)
2022-10-27Set/Reset Hearings: Telephone Status Conference set for 2/2/2023 at 12:00 PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (mf) (Entered: 10/31/2022)
2023-01-2017LETTER MOTION to Adjourn Conference addressed to Judge Lewis J. Liman from Plaintiff dated January 20, 2023. Document filed by Cameron Oakes..(Baldino, Raymond) (Entered: 01/20/2023)
2023-01-2318ORDER granting 17 Letter Motion to Adjourn Conference. The Telephonic Status Conference is rescheduled to February 3, 2023 at 2:30PM. Parties are directed to dial into the Court's teleconference line at 888-251-2909 and use access code 2123101. (Telephone Status Conference set for 2/3/2023 at 02:30 PM before Judge Lewis J. Liman.) (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Lewis J. Liman)(Text Only Order) (mf) (Entered: 01/23/2023)
2023-01-3119STATUS REPORT. Document filed by United States Department of Defense..(Onozawa, Tomoko) (Entered: 01/31/2023)
2023-02-02The Status Conference scheduled for 02/03/2023 at 2:30 PM is adjourned to 3/23/2023 at 3:00 PM. The parties are directed to dial into the Court's teleconference line at 888-251-2909 and use access code 2123101. The parties are further directed to submit a joint status update to the Court on March 17, 2023. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Lewis J. Liman) (Text Only Order) (st) (Entered: 02/02/2023)
2023-03-1720STATUS REPORT. Document filed by Cameron Oakes..(Baldino, Raymond) (Entered: 03/17/2023)
2023-03-21ORDER: The Status Conference previously set for March 23, 2023 is RESCHEDULED to June 9, 2023 at 11:00AM. The hearing will be held remotely by telephone and parties are directed to dial into the Court's teleconference line at 888-251-2909 and use access code 2123101. (HEREBY ORDERED by Judge Lewis J. Liman) (Text Only Order) (mf) (Entered: 03/21/2023)
2023-03-21Set/Reset Hearings: Status Conference set for 6/9/2023 at 11:00 AM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (mf) (Entered: 03/21/2023)
2023-06-09Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Lewis J. Liman: Status Conference held on 6/9/2023 by Telephone. Raymond Baldino present by telephone for Plaintiff. Tomoko Onozawa present by telephone for Defendant. The conference was recorded through the Court's teleconference line. Parties are to file a letter to the Court with a status update by June 26, 2023. Briefing schedule to be set at next conference. Next Telephonic Status Conference set for July 27, 2023 at 11:00AM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (mf) (Entered: 06/14/2023)
2023-06-09Set/Reset Hearings: Telephonic Status Conference set for 7/27/2023 at 11:00 AM before Judge Lewis J. Liman. (mf) (Entered: 06/14/2023)
2023-06-2621PROPOSED STIPULATION AND ORDER. Document filed by United States Department of Defense..(Onozawa, Tomoko) (Entered: 06/26/2023)
2023-06-2722STIPULATION AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL... IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, AGREED, and ORDERED as follows: The documents produced by DoD in this action fully resolve any and all claims that Plaintiff now has or may hereinafter acquire against DoD or the United States of America (the "Government"), or any department, agency, officer, or employee of DoD and/or the United States, related to or arising out of the Requests at issue in this action. After the Court has approved and docketed this Stipulation and Order, within a reasonable period of time, DoD shall pay to Plaintiff via electronic funds transfer the sum of NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($9,000.00) in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E), which sum Plaintiff agrees to accept incomplete satisfaction of any and all claims by Plaintiff for attorneys' fees, expenses, costs,interest, and any other sums related to this litigation. Counsel for Plaintiff will provide the necessary information for DoD to effectuate payment. This action is hereby dismissed with prejudice, and without costs or fees other than as provided in paragraph 2 of this Stipulation and Order, provided that the Court shall retain jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing this Stipulation and Order. This Stipulation and Order shall not constitute an admission of liability or fault on the part of DoD or the United States or their agents, servants, or employees, and is entered into by both parties for the sole purpose of compromising disputed claims and avoiding the expenses and risks of further litigation. The parties agree that this Stipulation and Order will not be used as evidence or otherwise in any pending or future civil or administrative action against DoD, the United States, or any agency or instrumentality of the United States. SO ORDERED: (Signed by Judge Lewis J. Liman on 6/27/23) (yv) (Entered: 06/27/2023)
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