Case: Government Accountability Project v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

1:17-cv-02518 | U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Filed Date: Nov. 21, 2017

Closed Date: 2020

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Case Summary

On Nov. 21, 2017, the organization Government Accountability Project brought this suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Represented by the civil rights law firm Loevy & Lovey, the plaintiff sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Plaintiff is a nonprofit organization "serving the public by protecting government and corporate whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing." The complaint alleged that on Apr. 4, 2017, the pl…

Plaintiff is a nonprofit organization "serving the public by protecting government and corporate whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing." The complaint alleged that on Apr. 4, 2017, the plaintiff had submitted a FOIA request to the defendant seeking records concerning:

1. All non-exempt correspondence between White House staff and defendant concerning ideological tests at the U.S. border;

2. All correspondence concerning searches of citizens and non-citizens at the U.S. border, including searches of cellphones, the protocols, information about who was searched (with identifying information redacted), search rates, and protocols if a search is refused;

3. Any records generated in connection with topics listed above that raised or were responding to compliance of 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) (a whistleblower protection statute for federal employees).

The complaint further alleged that, to date, the plaintiff had not received a substantive response from defendants. Plaintiff sought a disclosure order under FOIA, legal fees, and expedited action.

On Nov. 22, 2017, the case was assigned to Judge Christopher R. Cooper. The parties filed their first joint status report on Feb. 27, 2018, and their next on Apr. 3, specifying that DHS still needed to provide an estimated production schedule. According to a status report filed on May 8, DHS had completed processing the request and determined it had no responsive records.

Litigation continued, and the government moved for summary judgment. The court (Judge Christopher R. Cooper) denied the motion on Oct. 12, 2018. 335 F.Supp.3d 7. The court held that the government "unreasonably omitted additional search terms that quite likely would have generated a more robust return." The court held that "FOIA requests are not a game of Battleship [and t]he requester should not have to score a direct hit on the records sought based on the precise phrasing of his request. Rather, the agency must liberally interpret the request and frame its search accordingly." Accordingly, the court ordered the government to search for responsive records again pending the parties conferring over the search terms.

On November 16, 2018, the parties submitted a status report regarding their agreement with the search terms. The court reviewed the disagreements the plaintiff and the defendants had and concluded that the plaintiff's additional requests were beyond the scope of the original FOIA request. Therefore, the court ordered that the defendants need only conduct the additional search agreed upon in their status report, but that they must use the date of that search as the cut-off date for search returns.

In a status report dated September 13, 2019, the defendants stated that they had inadvertently utilized the cut-off date for the original search. In the subsequent two joint reports, the parties stated that DHS had completed its supplemental search and review of the returned records, and that none of the records were responsive to the FOIA request. The plaintiff stated that additional time was needed to determine whether any issues remained outstanding in this case. On the status reports dated January 7-8, 2020, the parties stated that the only outstanding issue was the payment of attorney fees, which they were unable to reach an agreement on. The plaintiff filed a motion for attorney fees on February 21, 2020, which was denied by Judge Cooper on June 2, 2020. The case was dismissed.

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Summary Authors

Ava Morgenstern (4/7/2018)

Virginia Weeks (10/17/2018)

Averyn Lee (6/3/2020)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6228956/parties/government-accountability-project-v-united-states-department-of-homeland/

Judge(s)

Cooper, Christopher Reid (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Burday, Joshua Hart (Illinois)

Topic, Matthew Vincent (Illinois)

Attorney for Defendant

Liu, Jessie K. (District of Columbia)

Simon, Jeremy S (District of Columbia)

Judge(s)

Cooper, Christopher Reid (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Burday, Joshua Hart (Illinois)

Topic, Matthew Vincent (Illinois)

Wayne, Merrick Jason (Illinois)

Attorney for Defendant

Liu, Jessie K. (District of Columbia)

Simon, Jeremy S (District of Columbia)

Van Horn, Daniel F (District of Columbia)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

	Document
1:17-cv-02518	Docket [PACER]	June 2, 2020	June 2, 2020 Docket
1 1:17-cv-02518	Complaint	Nov. 21, 2017	Nov. 21, 2017 Complaint
5 1:17-cv-02518	Status Report and Proposed Schedule	Feb. 27, 2018	Feb. 27, 2018 Other
6 1:17-cv-02518	Status Report and Proposed Schedule	April 3, 2018	April 3, 2018 Pleading / Motion / Brief
15 1:17-cv-02518	Memorandum Opinion Government Accountability Project v. Department of Homeland Security	Oct. 12, 2018	Oct. 12, 2018 Order/Opinion 335 F.Supp.3d 335
17 1:17-cv-02518	Status Report Regarding Search Terms	Nov. 16, 2018	Nov. 16, 2018 Pleading / Motion / Brief
18 1:17-cv-02518	Order	Nov. 21, 2018	Nov. 21, 2018 Order/Opinion
20 1:17-cv-02518	Joint Status Report	Sept. 13, 2019	Sept. 13, 2019 Pleading / Motion / Brief
31 1:17-cv-02518	Order	June 2, 2020	June 2, 2020 Order/Opinion 2020 WL 2020

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6228956/government-accountability-project-v-united-states-department-of-homeland/

Last updated March 27, 2024, 3:06 a.m.

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT against UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-5216810) filed by GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Summons, # 5 Summons, # 6 Summons)(Burday, Joshua) (Entered: 11/21/2017) 1 Civil Cover Sheet View on PACER 2 Exhibit View on PACER 3 Exhibit View on PACER 4 Summons View on PACER 5 Summons View on PACER 6 Summons View on PACER	Nov. 21, 2017	Nov. 21, 2017 RECAP
	Case Assigned to Judge Christopher R. Cooper. (zsb) (Entered: 11/22/2017)	Nov. 22, 2017	Nov. 22, 2017
	Case Assigned to Judge Christopher R. Cooper. (zsb)	Nov. 22, 2017	Nov. 22, 2017 PACER
	Case Assigned/Reassigned	Nov. 22, 2017	Nov. 22, 2017 PACER
2	SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zsb) (Entered: 11/22/2017)	Nov. 22, 2017	Nov. 22, 2017 PACER
3	Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to Answer or Otherwise Respond to Complaint by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 01/17/2018)	Jan. 17, 2018	Jan. 17, 2018 PACER
	MINUTE ORDER granting 3 Defendant's Motion for Extension of Time. Defendant's response to the complaint shall now be due by February 16, 2018. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 1/18/2018. (lccrc2)	Jan. 18, 2018	Jan. 18, 2018 PACER
	Order on Motion for Extension of Time to	Jan. 18, 2018	Jan. 18, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer due by 2/16/2018 (lsj)	Jan. 18, 2018	Jan. 18, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Jan. 18, 2018	Jan. 18, 2018 PACER
	Order	Feb. 14, 2018	Feb. 14, 2018 PACER
	MINUTE ORDER: Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. Since the requirements of LCvR 16.3 and Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not apply, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall confer and file a joint proposed schedule for briefing or disclosure by February 28, 2018. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 2/14/2018. (lccrc2)	Feb. 14, 2018	Feb. 14, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Feb. 14, 2018	Feb. 14, 2018 PACER
4	ANSWER to 1 Complaint, by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 02/14/2018)	Feb. 14, 2018	Feb. 14, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Proposed Briefing Schedule due by 2/28/2018 (lsj)	Feb. 14, 2018	Feb. 14, 2018 PACER
5	Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 02/27/2018)	Feb. 27, 2018	Feb. 27, 2018 PACER
	MINUTE ORDER: In light of 5 the parties' Joint Status Report, the parties are directed to file a further joint status report by April 3, 2018 proposing a further schedule for production. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 2/28/2018. (lccrc2)	Feb. 28, 2018	Feb. 28, 2018 PACER
	Order	Feb. 28, 2018	Feb. 28, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 4/3/2018 (lsj)	Feb. 28, 2018	Feb. 28, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Feb. 28, 2018	Feb. 28, 2018 PACER
6	Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 04/03/2018)	April 3, 2018	April 3, 2018 PACER
	MINUTE ORDER: In light of 6 the parties' joint status report, the parties are directed to file a further joint status report by May 8, 2018 proposing a further schedule for production. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 4/3/2018. (lccrc2)	April 6, 2018	April 6, 2018 PACER
	Order	April 6, 2018	April 6, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 5/8/2018 (lsj)	April 6, 2018	April 6, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	April 6, 2018	April 6, 2018 PACER
7	Joint STATUS REPORT and Proposed Briefing Schedule by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 05/08/2018)	May 8, 2018	May 8, 2018 RECAP
	MINUTE ORDER: In light of 7 the parties' joint status report, the summary judgment briefing schedule in this case shall be as follows: Defendant's motion for summary judgment shall be due by June 27, 2018; Plaintiff's combined opposition and cross-motion shall be due by July 27, 2018; Defendant's combined reply and opposition shall be due by August 17, 2018; and Plaintiff's reply shall be due by September 7, 2018. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 5/9/2018. (lccrc2)	May 9, 2018	May 9, 2018 PACER
	Order	May 9, 2018	May 9, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Summary Judgment motions due by 6/27/2018. Response to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 7/27/2018. Reply to Motion for Summary Judgment due by 8/17/2018. Replies due by 9/7/2018. (lsj)	May 9, 2018	May 9, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	May 9, 2018	May 9, 2018 PACER
8	MOTION for Summary Judgment, Local Rule 7(h) Statement and Supporting Memorandum by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order, # 2 Declaration of James V.M.L. Holzer)(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 06/27/2018) 1 Proposed Order View on PACER 2 Declaration of James V.M.L. Holzer View on RECAP	June 27, 2018	June 27, 2018 RECAP
9	MOTION for Partial Summary Judgment by GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support Memorandum, # 2 Statement of Facts Statement of Genuine Issues of Fact, # 3 Statement of Facts Statement of Material Facts, # 4 Text of Proposed Order Proposed Order)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 07/27/2018) 1 Memorandum in Support Memorandum View on RECAP 2 Statement of Facts Statement of Genuine Issues of Fact View on PACER 3 Statement of Facts Statement of Material Facts View on PACER 4 Text of Proposed Order Proposed Order View on RECAP	July 27, 2018	July 27, 2018 RECAP
10	Unopposed MOTION for Extension of Time to File Combined Opposition and Reply by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 08/17/2018) 1 Proposed Order View on PACER	Aug. 17, 2018	Aug. 17, 2018 PACER
	Order on Motion for Extension of Time to	Aug. 20, 2018	Aug. 20, 2018 PACER
	MINUTE ORDER granting 10 Defendant's Motion for Extension of Time. It is hereby ORDERED that Defendant's opposition and reply brief is due on or before September 10, 2018 and Plaintiff's reply is due on or before October 1. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 8/20/18. (lccrc2)	Aug. 20, 2018	Aug. 20, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Aug. 21, 2018	Aug. 21, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Defendant's Opposition and Reply Brief due by 9/10/2018. (lsj)	Aug. 21, 2018	Aug. 21, 2018 PACER
11	Memorandum in opposition to re 9 MOTION for Partial Summary Judgment filed by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Attachments: # 1 Response to Plaintiff's Local Rule 7(h) Statement, # 2 Supplemental Declaration of James V.M.L. Holzer, # 3 Proposed Order)(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 09/10/2018) 1 Response to Plaintiff's Local Rule 7(h) Statement View on PACER 2 Supplemental Declaration of James V.M.L. Holzer View on PACER 3 Proposed Order View on PACER	Sept. 10, 2018	Sept. 10, 2018 RECAP
12	REPLY to opposition to motion re 8 MOTION for Summary Judgment, Local Rule 7(h) Statement and Supporting Memorandum (duplicate of Docket Entry No. 11) filed by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Attachments: # 1 Response to Plaintiff's Local Rule 7(h) Statement, # 2 Supplemental Declaration of James V.M.L. Holzer, # 3 Proposed Order)(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 09/10/2018)	Sept. 10, 2018	Sept. 10, 2018 PACER
13	REPLY to opposition to motion re 9 MOTION for Partial Summary Judgment filed by GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 10/01/2018)	Oct. 1, 2018	Oct. 1, 2018 PACER
14	ORDER denying 8 Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and granting 9 Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/12/2018. (lccrc2) (Entered: 10/12/2018)	Oct. 12, 2018	Oct. 12, 2018 PACER
15	MEMORANDUM OPINION re 14 Order denying Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and granting Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/12/2018. (lccrc2) (Entered: 10/12/2018)	Oct. 12, 2018	Oct. 12, 2018 RECAP
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Meet & Confer Statement due by 10/26/2018. Responses due by 11/2/2018. (znbn)	Oct. 12, 2018	Oct. 12, 2018 PACER
16	Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to Comply with Deadlines in Court's October 12, 2018 Order by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 10/24/2018)	Oct. 24, 2018	Oct. 24, 2018 PACER
	MINUTE ORDER granting Defendant's 16 Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Comply with Deadlines in Court's October 12, 2018 Order. The October 26, 2018 deadline for the parties to meet and confer regarding potential search terms is now extended to November 9, 2018; the November 2, 2018 deadline for the parties, should they be unable to agree on search terms, to propose their preferred terms to the Court is now extended to November 16, 2018. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 10/25/2018. (lccrc2)	Oct. 25, 2018	Oct. 25, 2018 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines: Meet & Confer Statement due by 11/9/2018. Deadline for the parties, should they be unable to agree on search terms, to propose their preferred terms to the Court is now extended to 11/16/2018. (znbn)	Oct. 25, 2018	Oct. 25, 2018 PACER
17	Joint STATUS REPORT Regarding Search Terms by UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Simon, Jeremy) (Entered: 11/16/2018)	Nov. 16, 2018	Nov. 16, 2018 PACER
18	ORDER regarding additional search terms. Signed by Judge Christopher R. Cooper on 11/21/2018. (lccrc2) (Entered: 11/21/2018)	Nov. 21, 2018	Nov. 21, 2018 RECAP
19	Notice of Appearance	Aug. 6, 2019	Aug. 6, 2019 PACER
	.Order	Sept. 6, 2019	Sept. 6, 2019 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Sept. 6, 2019	Sept. 6, 2019 PACER
20	Status Report	Sept. 13, 2019	Sept. 13, 2019 PACER
	.Order	Sept. 17, 2019	Sept. 17, 2019 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Sept. 17, 2019	Sept. 17, 2019 PACER
21	Status Report	Oct. 1, 2019	Oct. 1, 2019 PACER
	.Order	Oct. 3, 2019	Oct. 3, 2019 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Oct. 4, 2019	Oct. 4, 2019 PACER
22	Status Report	Oct. 29, 2019	Oct. 29, 2019 PACER
	.Order	Oct. 31, 2019	Oct. 31, 2019 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Oct. 31, 2019	Oct. 31, 2019 PACER
23	Status Report	Dec. 2, 2019	Dec. 2, 2019 PACER
	.Order	Dec. 2, 2019	Dec. 2, 2019 PACER
	Set/Reset Hearings	Dec. 3, 2019	Dec. 3, 2019 PACER
	~Util - Set/Reset Deadlines	Dec. 6, 2019	Dec. 6, 2019 PACER
	Telephone Conference	Dec. 6, 2019	Dec. 6, 2019 PACER
	.Order	Dec. 6, 2019	Dec. 6, 2019 PACER
24	Status Report	Jan. 7, 2020	Jan. 7, 2020 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	Jan. 8, 2020	Jan. 8, 2020 PACER
	.Order	Jan. 8, 2020	Jan. 8, 2020 PACER
25	Status Report	Feb. 6, 2020	Feb. 6, 2020 PACER
26	Attorney Fees	Feb. 21, 2020	Feb. 21, 2020 PACER
27	Memorandum in opposition to motion	March 23, 2020	March 23, 2020 PACER
28	Extension of Time to File Document	April 6, 2020	April 6, 2020 PACER
	Order on Motion for Extension of Time to File	April 7, 2020	April 7, 2020 PACER
	Set/Reset Deadlines	April 7, 2020	April 7, 2020 PACER
29	Reply to opposition to motion	May 7, 2020	May 7, 2020 PACER
30	Reply to opposition to motion	May 11, 2020	May 11, 2020 PACER
31	Order on Motion for Attorney Fees	June 2, 2020	June 2, 2020 PACER