Alexander v. F.B.I.

186 F.R.D. 148 (1999)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
A
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Alexander v. F.B.I.

United States District Court for the District of Columbia
186 F.R.D. 148 (1999)

Facts

Alexander and others (plaintiffs) sued the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (defendant) and the Executive Office of the President (EOP) (defendant), alleging that the FBI had violated their privacy by wrongfully turning over FBI files of previous White House appointees and employees of the Reagan and Bush administrations to the EOP. The plaintiffs requested with reasonable particularity that the EOP designate a deponent to testify on its behalf under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 30(b)(6) about audio and video recording and surveillance systems in the White House. The EOP designated Director of White House Operations John Dankowski, who had 12 years of experience and oversaw all purchasing, to testify. After Dankowski’s deposition, the plaintiffs moved to compel the EOP to re-designate a FRCP 30(b)(6) witness and pay the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees and costs, because Dankowski: (1) lacked expertise on surveillance systems and was not qualified to testify; (2) failed to adequately prepare for the deposition, aside from consulting political appointees; (3) was not knowledgeable about a secret surveillance department; and (4) did not adequately answer questions regarding the existence of a White House voicemail recording system between 1992–1994.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lamberth, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Civil Procedure

Key Terms

Related Videos