| Date Filed | Doc # | Docket Text |
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| 2022-06-30 | 1 | COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number BDCDC-9343619) filed by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A: VA Request, # 2 Exhibit B: Acknowledgment, # 3 Exhibit C: Status Update, # 4 Civil Cover Sheet, # 5 Summons)(Field, Brian) (Entered: 06/30/2022) |
| 2022-07-01 | 2 | LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION (Field, Brian) (Entered: 07/01/2022) |
| 2022-07-05 | | Case Assigned to Judge Amy Berman Jackson. (zsb) (Entered: 07/05/2022) |
| 2022-07-07 | 3 | SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zsb) (Entered: 07/07/2022) |
| 2022-07-26 | 4 | RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 7/7/2022. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 8/6/2022. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of K. Robinson with Exhibits)(Field, Brian) (Entered: 07/26/2022) |
| 2022-07-26 | 5 | RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS served on 7/18/2022 (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of K. Robinson with Exhibits)(Field, Brian) (Entered: 07/26/2022) |
| 2022-07-26 | 6 | RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 07/18/2022. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of K. Robinson with Exhibits)(Field, Brian) (Entered: 07/26/2022) |
| 2022-08-08 | 7 | NOTICE of Appearance by Hannah Solomon-Strauss on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (Solomon-Strauss, Hannah) (Entered: 08/08/2022) |
| 2022-08-08 | 8 | NOTICE of Appearance by Giselle Barcia on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (Barcia, Giselle) (Entered: 08/08/2022) |
| 2022-08-08 | 9 | ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.(Barcia, Giselle) (Entered: 08/08/2022) |
| 2022-08-10 | 10 | ORDER. Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. The requirements of Local Civil Rule 16.3 and Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure appear to be inapplicable. Defendant shall file a dispositive motion or, in the alternative, a report setting forth the schedule for the completion of its production of documents to plaintiff, on or before September 7, 2022. See Order for details. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 08/10/2022. (lcabj2) (Entered: 08/10/2022) |
| 2022-08-25 | 11 | NOTICE OF RELATED CASE by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. Case related to (Barcia, Giselle) (Main Document 11 replaced on 8/29/2022) (ztth). (Entered: 08/25/2022) |
| 2022-09-02 | | MINUTE ORDER. Plaintiff has filed eleven FOIA cases in this court against eleven different federal government agencies, seeking from each records sufficient to identify 1) all employees who entered a position in the agency as a political appointee since January 20, 2021 or 2) all career employees who were detailed to a position eligible to be filled by a political appointee or to a new position through coordination or consultation with either the White House Liaison or Presidential Personnel Office since January 20, 2021. See Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Commerce, 1:22-cv-01884-ABJ; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Energy, 1:22-cv-01888-RDM; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Services, 1:22-cv-01895-TSC; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Security, 1:22-cv-01896-CJN; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of State, 1:22-cv-01897-CJN; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Transportation, 1:22-cv-01898-ABJ; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Treasury, 1:22-cv-01899-TSC; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, 1:22-cv-01900-ABJ; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Education, 1:22-cv-01901-DLF; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, 1:22-cv-01903-BAH; Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, 1:22-cv-01905-CKK. Plaintiff has filed a notice of related case in each case, asserting that all of the cases are related under Local Civil Rule 40.5. Plaintiff maintains that they raise common issues of fact and law because they involve identical FOIA requests, and will, plaintiff predicts, result in similar document productions and involve similar FOIA exemptions. If the cases were related, Rule 40.5(c)(1) would direct that they be reassigned to the judge with the oldest pending case, which is America First Legal Foundation v. U.S. Department of Commerce, 1:22-cv-01884-ABJ. Upon review of plaintiff's notice of related case, though, the Court concludes that the eleven cases are not related under Local Rule 40.5. While the requests themselves called for the same types of records, that does not mean that litigation involving the agencies' responses will present common issues to be resolved. Summary judgment motions often test the adequacy of the search, and here, the requests were transmitted to eleven different agencies, with their own hiring processes, record keeping systems, and custodians. Each agency's effort to identify and produce documents responsive to plaintiff's request will involve searching the files of different custodians in different locations and on different systems, using terms appropriate to the agency, and the questions presented when each agency announces that the search has been completed will be different. Even the early stages of the litigation, when production schedules are established, will vary from agency to agency depending upon the volume of responsive material and the agency's FOIA resources. Moreover, the legitimacy of any claimed exemptions, another issue that can be litigated on summary judgment, may vary depending upon the mission of the agency, including whether it has a law enforcement function and the volume of classified material essential to its work. In sum, despite the similarity of the requests, it is not apparent now that the facts and law to be considered in determining whether each agency has complied with FOIA will be the same, and the cases will not be reassigned pursuant to Local Rule 40.5. This order does not rule out the possibility that cases could be consolidated in the future for the consideration of a common question of law. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 09/02/2022. (DMK) (Entered: 09/02/2022) |
| 2022-09-07 | 12 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (Barcia, Giselle) (Entered: 09/07/2022) |
| 2022-09-08 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 12 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by October 28, 2022. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 09/08/2022. (lcabj2) (Entered: 09/08/2022) |
| 2022-09-20 | 13 | ENTERED IN ERROR.....ORDER. Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. The requirements of Local Civil Rule 16.3 and Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure appear to be inapplicable. Defendants shall file a dispositive motion or, in the alternative, a report setting forth the schedule for the completion of their production of documents to plaintiff, on or before October 18, 2022. See Order for details. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 09/20/2022. (lcabj2) Modified on 9/21/2022 (jth). (Entered: 09/20/2022) |
| 2022-09-21 | | NOTICE OF ERROR regarding 13 Order issued on 9/20/2022. The Court entered this order in the incorrect case and it has been refiled in the correct case. The parties are directed to disregard this order. (jth) (Entered: 09/21/2022) |
| 2022-10-28 | 14 | Joint STATUS REPORT by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Field, Brian) (Entered: 10/28/2022) |
| 2022-11-01 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 14 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by November 30, 2022. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 11/01/2022. (lcabj2) (Entered: 11/01/2022) |
| 2022-11-30 | 15 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (Solomon-Strauss, Hannah) (Entered: 11/30/2022) |
| 2022-12-02 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 15 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by January 20, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 12/02/2022. (lcabj2) (Entered: 12/02/2022) |
| 2023-01-19 | 16 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (Solomon-Strauss, Hannah) (Entered: 01/19/2023) |
| 2023-01-20 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 16 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by February 21, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 01/20/2023. (lcabj2) (Entered: 01/20/2023) |
| 2023-02-21 | 17 | Joint STATUS REPORT by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Field, Brian) (Entered: 02/21/2023) |
| 2023-02-22 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 17 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by April 14, 2023. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 2/22/23. (DMK) (Entered: 02/22/2023) |
| 2023-04-14 | 18 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (Solomon-Strauss, Hannah) (Entered: 04/14/2023) |
| 2023-04-19 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 18 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by June 13, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 04/19/2023. (lcabj2) (Entered: 04/19/2023) |
| 2023-06-13 | 19 | Joint STATUS REPORT by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Field, Brian) (Entered: 06/13/2023) |
| 2023-06-15 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 19 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by August 2, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 06/15/2023. (lcabj2) (Entered: 06/15/2023) |
| 2023-08-02 | 20 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (Solomon-Strauss, Hannah) (Entered: 08/02/2023) |
| 2023-08-03 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 20 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by October 6, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 08/03/2023. (lcabj2) (Entered: 08/03/2023) |
| 2023-10-06 | 21 | Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (Solomon-Strauss, Hannah) (Entered: 10/06/2023) |
| 2023-10-30 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 21 joint status report and the denial of the motion to consolidate in related Case No. 22-cv-01884, the parties must submit another status report by December 5, 2023. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 10/30/2023. (lcabj2) (Entered: 10/30/2023) |
| 2023-11-30 | 22 | NOTICE of Appearance by Zachary W. Sherwood on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (Sherwood, Zachary) (Entered: 11/30/2023) |
| 2023-12-05 | 23 | Joint STATUS REPORT by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Field, Brian) (Entered: 12/05/2023) |
| 2023-12-06 | | MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 23 joint status report, the parties must submit another status report by January 19, 2024. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on 12/6/2023. (lcabj2) (Entered: 12/06/2023) |
| 2024-01-16 | 24 | STIPULATION of Dismissal by AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION. (Field, Brian) (Entered: 01/16/2024) |
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