MEZERHANE DE SCHNAPP v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

MOTION for Extension of Time to File Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment

D.D.C.October 27, 2014

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MARIA ANDREA MEZERHANE ) DE SCHNAPP ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No.:13-cv-01461-JDB ) UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP ) AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, ) ) Defendant. ) DEFEENDANT’S MOTION TO MODIFY OCTOBER 8, 2014 MINUTE ORDER Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b), Defendant respectfully requests that the Court modify the October 8, 2014 Minute Order and extend the deadline from October 28, 2014, to November 19, 2014, for Defendant to file its renewed motion for summary judgment and supplemental declaration. Counsel for the parties conferred under Local Rule 7(m) and Plaintiff opposes this Motion. There is good cause for the Court to grant the requested extension of time. In this Freedom of Information Act case, the Court resolved all issues except for five pages of documents that Defendant redacted or withheld under FOIA Exemption (b)(5). See ECF No. 26. Guided by the Court’s Memorandum Opinion, Defendant has been gathering information to address the issues raised by the Court’s Memorandum Opinion. Defendant, however, underestimated the laborious process involved in tracking down the information needed to prepare a supplemental declaration in support of its renewed motion for summary judgment. Several agency employees have been involved in researching the information and, with each turn, additional issues would arise. Given this time-consuming process, Defendant needs Case 1:13-cv-01461-JDB Document 28 Filed 10/27/14 Page 1 of 4 additional time to complete gathering the relevant information and to prepare an appropriate supplemental declaration to support the invocation of FOIA Exemption (b)(5) to withhold these five pages of documents. Additional time is also needed due to the undersigned’s training and travel schedules, and the schedule of agency officials. Specifically, the undersigned will be out of the office from October 28 to October 30, 2014, for scheduled training. The undersigned is then scheduled to travel for a conference from November 5 to November 9, 2014. During the week of November 10, 2014, a short week due to the Veteran’s Day federal holiday, the undersigned has filing obligations in yet another FOIA matter. The undersigned has a court hearing on November 17th in a Title VII case and a reply brief due on November 18th in an APA matter. Furthermore, additional time is needed because of the work and travel schedules of agency employees. The employees involved in investigating and gathering the relevant information are mostly supervisors and they are preoccupied with year-end work responsibilities. Moreover, these employees are out of the office for training and conferences during the week of November 3, 2014. Given the work load, training and travel schedules, Defendant needs additional time to prepare an appropriate renewed motion for summary judgment to be filed with the Court. For the foregoing reasons and having shown good cause, Defendant respectfully requests that the Court extend the deadline to November 19, 2014, for Defendant to file its renewed motion for summary judgment and supplemental declaration, and similarly extend the deadline to December 3, 2014, for Plaintiff to file her response. Case 1:13-cv-01461-JDB Document 28 Filed 10/27/14 Page 2 of 4 Dated: October 27, 2014. Respectfully submitted, RONALD C. MACHEN JR. D.C. BAR # 447889 United States Attorney DANIEL F. VAN HORN D.C. BAR # 924092 Chief, Civil Division By: ______//s//______________ JOHN C. TRUONG D.C. BAR #465901 Assistant United States Attorney 555 4th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Tel: (202) 252-2524 Fax: (202) 252-2599 E-mail: John.Truong@usdoj.gov Case 1:13-cv-01461-JDB Document 28 Filed 10/27/14 Page 3 of 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MARIA ANDREA MEZERHANE ) DE SCHNAPP ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No.: 13-cv-01461-JDB ) UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP ) AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, ) ) Defendant. ) [PROPOSED] ORDER Upon consideration of Defendant’s Motion To Modify Scheduling Order and the entire record herein, it is this _____ day of ______, 2014, ORDEREED that Defendant’s Motion To Modify Scheduling Order be and is hereby GRANTED; and it is ORDERED that Defendant shall have up to and including November 19, 2014, to file its renewed motion for summary judgment and supplemental declaration; and it is FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff shall have up to and including December 3, 2014, to respond to Defendant’s submissions. SO ORDERED. _______________________ The Hon. John D. Bates Case 1:13-cv-01461-JDB Document 28 Filed 10/27/14 Page 4 of 4