Bagwell v. U.S. Department of Justice

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

RYAN BAGWELL, Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 15-cv-00531 (CRC)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Defendant.

ORDER

Having considered the Defendant’s [19] February 29, 2016 status report and supplemental Vaughn Index, the Court finds that the Department of Justice has adequately justified its withholding in full of the 104 previously withheld pages of documents as to which the Court reserved judgment in its December 18, 2015 Memorandum Opinion. See Bagwell v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, No. 15-CV-00531 (CRC), 2015 WL 9272836, at *1 (D.D.C. Dec. 18, 2015). The combination of the supplemental Vaughn Index and the original affidavits also lead the Court to find that DOJ has released all reasonably segregable material in those documents. Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that Defendant’s [12] Motion for Summary Judgment be GRANTED IN PART with respect to those documents. It is further ORDERED that Defendant’s [12] Motion for Summary Judgment be DENIED without prejudice in all other respects. It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff’s [13] Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment be DENIED.

It is further ORDERED that [19] Defendant’s Motion to Stay be DENIED. It is further

ORDERED that any overall objection by Defendant to the burdensomeness of Plaintiff’s FOIA request be filed, in the form of a renewed motion for summary judgement (or partial summary judgment), by March 30, 2016. In this regard, the government is reminded of the guidance offered by the Court at the February 11, 2016 telephonic status conference regarding the adequacy of treating certain groups of self-evident grand jury materials on a categorical basis so as to avoid the need for page-by-page review. It is further ORDERED that, absent any wholesale burdensomeness objection, Defendant begin processing the request (or any remaining part of the request not challenged as unduly burdensome) upon the payment of applicable processing and duplication fees. Defendant shall produce all non- exempt material on a monthly, rolling basis. Defendant shall complete the production and a Vaughn Index of any withheld material within six months of its commencement absent leave of the Court. The Court will set a schedule for further dispositive motions by either party at the conclusion of the production, as necessary. It is further ORDERED that the parties jointly file a further status report every 60 days, beginning March 31, 2016.

SO ORDERED.

CHRISTOPHER R. COOPER

United States District Judge

Date: March 3, 2016