Free Order on Motion for Protective Order - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:01-cv-00256-CFL

Document 84

Filed 11/02/2007

Page 1 of 1

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS Nos. 01-256T & 01-257T (consolidated) (Filed: November 2, 2007) ____________________________________ ) MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL ) RESORTS, L.P., et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. ) ) ____________________________________)

ORDER Pending before the court on remand from the Federal Circuit, see Marriott Int'l Resorts, L.P. v. United States, 437 F.3d 1302 (Fed. Cir. 2006), are plaintiffs' motion to compel the government to produce documents withheld or redacted on grounds of the deliberative-process prong of executive privilege and defendant's competing motion for protective order. At the court's request, defendant tendered for in camera inspection the unredacted and withheld documents requested in plaintiffs' motion. Based upon a detailed and careful review in camera of the tendered documents, the court has concluded that all of the withheld documents are protected and thus that none of the documents are producible. The motion to compel is accordingly DENIED, and the motion for protective order is GRANTED. The withheld documents tendered to the court may be retrieved by defendant's counsel from the clerk's office. The parties are requested to confer and to file a joint status report on or before November 16, 2007, proposing a plan and schedule for next steps in these consolidated cases. It is so ORDERED.

s/ Charles F. Lettow Judge