Doshi v. Blinken, No. 23-3613, 2024 WL 3509486 (D.D.C. July 22, 2024) (Contreras, J.)

Doshi v. Blinken, No. 23-3613, 2024 WL 3509486 (D.D.C. July 22, 2024) (Contreras, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning one plaintiff’s designation under Section 7031(c) of Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, rendering him and members of his family ineligible to enter United States

Disposition:  Denying plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Summary Judgment:  The court holds that “Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment is . . . denied without prejudice, and the Court will instruct the parties to submit status reports at regular intervals.”  “Plaintiffs . . . seek entry of summary judgment against Defendants given a delay of ‘nearly two years’ since submission of the FOIA request.”  “Since Plaintiffs filed their motion, however, the State Department has started producing documents.”  “Defendants asserted that production would continue every six weeks on a rolling basis.”  “Plaintiffs demand that the State Department at least define the scope of documents it plans to produce.”  “The Court’s intervention at this stage would be premature.”  “‘[T]he agency may continue to process [Plaintiffs’] request,’ but ‘the [C]ourt . . . will supervise the agency’s ongoing progress, ensuring that the agency continues to exercise due diligence in processing the request.’”