UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

WEST PALM BEACH DIVISION

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DONALD J. TRUMP,

Plaintiff,

- against - CASE MANAGEMENT PLAN

No. 22-81294-CIV-CANNON

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Defendant.

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RAYMOND J. DEARIE, Special Master

Pursuant to the Order Appointing Special Master, ECF 91 (“Appointing Order”), as well 

as the Order Following Partial Stay, ECF No. 104 (“Order Following Stay”), the undersigned 

respectfully directs the parties as set forth below. Nothing expressed in this Case Management 

Plan relieves either party of any obligation imposed by the Court in either Order.

I. VERIFICATION OF THE DETAILED PROPERTY INVENTORY

No later than September 26, 2022, a government official with sufficient knowledge of the 

matter shall submit a declaration or affidavit as to whether the Detailed Property Inventory, ECF 

39-1, represents the full and accurate extent of the property seized from the premises located at 

1100 S. Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, Florida 33480 (the “Premises”) on August 8, 2022, 

excluding documents bearing classification markings (the “Seized Materials”). See Appointing 

Order ¶ 2(a); Order Following Stay ¶ 1.

No later than September 30, 2022, Plaintiff shall submit a declaration or affidavit that 

includes each of the following factual matters:

a. A list of any specific items set forth in the Detailed Property Inventory that 

Plaintiff asserts were not seized from the Premises on August 8, 2022.

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b. A list of any specific items set forth in the Detailed Property Inventory that 

Plaintiff asserts were seized from the Premises on August 8, 2022, but as to which Plaintiff 

asserts that the Detailed Property Inventory’s description of contents or location within the 

Premises where the item was found is incorrect.

c. A detailed list and description of any item that Plaintiff asserts was seized from 

the Premises on August 8, 2022, but is not listed in the Detailed Property Inventory.

This submission shall be Plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the 

completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory.

No later than October 14, 2022, the government shall submit a declaration or affidavit 

from a person with sufficient knowledge of the matter responding to any factual disputes as to 

the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory raised in Plaintiff’s 

submissions. Upon reviewing the parties’ submissions, the undersigned will schedule further 

proceedings as needed to resolve any such disputes including, if necessary, an evidentiary 

hearing at which witnesses with knowledge of the relevant facts will provide testimony. To the 

extent that the resolution of any such factual disputes identifies additional materials that should 

be reviewed, the undersigned will set further proceedings as needed.

The identification and resolution of any factual disputes as to the completeness and 

accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory will proceed concurrently with the substantive 

review procedures described below.

II. REVIEW OF SEIZED MATERIALS

The following deadlines and procedures shall govern the parties’ and the Special 

Master’s review of the Seized Materials. 

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No later than September 23, 2022, the parties shall agree upon and contract with a 

document review vendor that will host the Seized Materials in electronic form.

No later than September 26, 2022, the government shall make available to Plaintiff and 

the Special Master copies of all Seized Materials in electronic format with each page bearing a 

unique Bates number. The government shall also provide an electronic spreadsheet that: (1) 

correlates the Bates numbers of each document with the pertinent item in the Detailed Property 

Inventory; (2) for each document, specifies whether the Privilege Review Team has designated 

the document as potentially privileged; and (3) for any such potentially privileged document, 

identifies the nature of the potential privilege.

Plaintiff shall provide the Special Master and the government with an annotated copy of 

the spreadsheet described above that specifies, for each document, whether Plaintiff asserts any 

of the following:

a. Attorney-client communication privilege;

b. Attorney work product privilege

c. Executive privilege that prohibits review of the document within the executive 

branch;

d. Executive privilege that prohibits dissemination of the document to persons or 

entities outside the executive branch;

e. The document is a Presidential Record within the meaning of the Presidential 

Records Act of 1978, 44 U.S.C. § 2201, et seq. (“PRA); see id. § 2201(2); and/or

f. The document is a personal record within the meaning of the PRA; see id § 

2201(3).

Plaintiff’s designations shall be on a document-by-document basis. For any document that 

Plaintiff designates as privileged and/or personal, Plaintiff shall include a brief statement 

explaining the basis for the designation.

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Plaintiff shall provide his designations to the government on a rolling basis. For each set 

of designations Plaintiff provides to the government, the parties are to confer and attempt to 

resolve or narrow any disputes within seven days.

No later than seven calendar days after service of each set of Plaintiff’s designations, the

parties shall submit to the Special Master a log of documents as to which the parties disagree 

about assertions of privilege or categorization under the PRA. The log shall briefly set forth each 

party’s position as to each disputed designation. Upon receiving the parties’ list of disputes, the 

undersigned will issue reports and recommendations resolving such disputes on a rolling basis.

The undersigned understands that the government has already provided Plaintiff with an 

initial set of documents reviewed by its privilege review team and designated as potentially 

privileged attorney-client communications (the “Filter Materials”). Plaintiff is directed to 

prioritize the Filter Materials and to provide the government with a log of its designations as to 

the Filter Materials on or before September 26, 2022.

Plaintiff shall serve the government with its final and complete log of designations on or 

before October 14, 2022. The parties shall submit their final and complete log of disputed 

designations to the Special Master on or before October 21, 2022. A summary of the timeline to 

be followed is provided in the chart below:

Plaintiff to serve designations to 

government

Parties to submit log of disputed 

designations to Special Master 

Filter Materials September 26 October 3

Batch 1 September 30 October 7

Batch 2 October 7 October 14

Batch 3 October 14 October 21

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III. MOTION FOR RETURN OF PROPERTY

Once the Court has reviewed the Special Master’s recommendations and ruled on any 

objections thereto, the Special Master will, if necessary, consider Plaintiff’s motion for the return 

of property under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g). Plaintiff shall submit a brief in 

support of the motion no later than seven calendar days after the Court’s ruling on the Special 

Master’s recommendations. In addition to addressing the merits of the Rule 41(g) motion, 

Plaintiff’s brief should address specifically whether the motion may properly be resolved in this 

action or must instead be decided as part of the docket in the action in which the relevant warrant 

was issued, 9:22-MJ-08332-BER. The government shall submit a responsive brief no later than 

seven calendar days after submission of Plaintiff’s brief. Plaintiff may submit a reply brief no 

later than three calendar days thereafter. Any party may include a request for oral argument in its 

initial brief. The Special Master will promptly issue a report and recommendation after briefing 

and oral argument has been completed.

IV. STAFFING, COMPENSATION, AND EXPENSES

The undersigned has determined that the efficient administration of the Special Master’s 

duties requires the assistance of the Honorable James Orenstein (Ret.), a former United States 

Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York, who has experience with complex case 

management, privilege review, warrant procedures, and other matters that may arise in the course 

of the Special Master’s duties. Judge Orenstein has served as an appointed amicus curiae in the 

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1803(i)(2) and currently holds 

Top Secret clearance.

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The undersigned will also utilize Eastern District of New York court staff in carrying out 

his duties as Special Master. The undersigned will promptly notify the parties of any need for 

additional professionals, support staff, or expert consultants.

As a United States District Judge in active service, the undersigned will seek no 

additional compensation for performing the duties of Special Master in this action. The 

undersigned proposes that Judge Orenstein be compensated at the hourly rate of $500. The 

undersigned further proposes that the Special Master will provide the parties with monthly 

invoices, starting on October 1, 2022, setting forth the hours worked and expenses to be 

reimbursed. No later than seven calendar days after receiving each such invoice, Plaintiff shall 

notify the undersigned of any objections to the invoice, which will be promptly reviewed and 

resolved. No later than seven calendar days after the undersigned has resolved any such disputes

(or seven calendar days after receiving an invoice as to which Plaintiff raises no objections), 

Plaintiff will submit payment in full as directed on the invoice. Failure to make timely payment 

will be deemed a violation of the Special Master’s order subject to sanction pursuant to Federal 

Rule of Civil Procedure 53(c)(2).

The parties may submit comments on the foregoing staffing, compensation, and expense

proposal no later than September 24, 2022, after which time the undersigned shall submit the 

proposal to the Court for consideration and approval. See Appointing Order, ¶¶ 14-15.

* * *

This Case Management Plan shall be filed on the docket and deemed served on each 

party today. The parties may file objections to, or motions to adopt or modify, the foregoing 

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Case Management Plan by September 27, 2022. Failure to timely object shall result in waiver of 

the objection. See Appointing Order, ¶ 11; Fed. R. Civ. P. 53(f).1

The next status conference in this matter is scheduled for October 6, 2022, at 2:00pm, by 

telephone. The Special Master will provide dial-in information in advance of that date.

Dated: Brooklyn, New York /s/ Raymond J. Dearie .

September 22, 2022 RAYMOND J. DEARIE

United States District Judge

1 To the extent the parties file objections with the Court as to this Case Management Plan, the 

deadlines set forth above shall remain in effect while such objections are pending. 

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