Grey v. Cuccineli, No. 18-01764, 2020 WL 362932 (D.S.C. Jan. 22, 2020) (Norton, J.)

Grey v. Cuccineli, No. 18-01764, 2020 WL 362932 (D.S.C. Jan. 22, 2020) (Norton, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning plaintiff's Alien Registration File, as well as USCIS documents related to Jamaican nationals seeking marriage-based immigration benefits and USCIS materials related to marriage fraud

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff's motion to compel Vaughn Index

• Litigation Considerations, Vaughn Index/Declaration:  "[T]he court denies [plaintiff's] motion to compel without prejudice."  "[T]he court finds it appropriate to wait and determine the necessity of a Vaughn index after summary judgment briefing is complete."  "USCIS plans to file a motion for summary judgment in just over a month, and the court will be better equipped to consider this issue after it reviews the sufficiency of any declarations accompanying USCIS's motion."  "Moreover, the court's resolution of USCIS's motion could moot the need for a Vaughn index."  "Finally, USCIS agrees to providing [plaintiff] more than 14 days to respond to the motion, which addresses the concern that [plaintiff] would be prejudiced by a short amount of time to respond to a case that USCIS spent months building."  The court also advises that "[plaintiff] can refile his motion to compel after summary judgment if need be."