Saved copy of
Joint meet-and-confer report
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · 2026-08-28
The saved file is a PDF document of 0.1 MB. What follows is the text taken from it, which is the text the story quotes.
<!-- page 1 -->
Case 1:26-cv-00981-CRC Document 62 Filed 08/28/26 Page 1 of 6
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. PRESERVATION LEAGUE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v. Civil Action No. 1:26-cv-00981 (CRC)
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE JOHN F.
KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE
PERFORMING ARTS, et al.,
Defendants.
JOINT MEET-AND-CONFER REPORT
Pursuant to the Court’s August 7 and August 14, 2026 Orders, the parties submit this report
regarding their Local Rule 16.3(a) conference.
As the Court is aware, the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) voted on
August 13, 2026, to adopt a proposal that contemplates a full closure of the Center’s main building;
the maintenance of fine- and performing-arts programming activities at the REACH; support for
offsite performances by the National Symphony Orchestra; the continuation of educational
programming; the continuation of certain signature productions put on by the Center at offsite
locations; and the relocation of the memorial experience for President Kennedy to the REACH
building. See ECF 60 at 2.1 Defendants plan to move next month to dissolve the injunction in the
closely related Beatty matter insofar as it prohibits them from closing the Center, and the parties
expect that Representative Beatty will oppose that motion. See Joint Status Report, Beatty v.
Trump, No. 25-cv-04480 (D.D.C. Aug. 18, 2026), ECF 64.
1
Citations to “ECF” are to the docket entries in this case.
1
---
<!-- page 2 -->
Case 1:26-cv-00981-CRC Document 62 Filed 08/28/26 Page 2 of 6
Given the centrality of the closure decision to the Board’s project plans, see, e.g., id. at 1-
2, the parties propose that the Court stay discovery and the parties’ Rule 26 and Local Rule 16.3
submissions until the Court rules on Defendants’ forthcoming motion to dissolve the injunction
entered in the Beatty case. As the Court recognized in its order denying Plaintiffs’ preliminary-
injunction motion, without a stable target—i.e., a final closure decision and settled project plans—
it is difficult, if not impossible, for the parties to litigate this case. See ECF 45 at 42. While a stable
target may come into focus if the Court dissolves the injunction and permits Defendants to go
forward with their closure of the Center, commencing discovery now into the legality of a project
plan that may never go into effect as constituted and has not yet been fully fleshed out does not
promote the efficient and economical resolution of this matter. The fact that several of Plaintiffs’
claims may turn on specific details of the ultimate project plan—for example, whether and when
permits will be required for work that might affect the NPS-administered Rock Creek Parkway,
see id. at 13—further favors commencing discovery (should any be necessary) only when
Defendants’ plans are reasonably final and certain.
Plaintiffs note that their agreement to this proposal is based on their understanding that
(1) apart from ongoing facilities maintenance and capital improvement efforts described by Mr.
Floca in his July 14, 2026 declaration, see ECF 56 ¶¶ 4-5, no work at the Center will begin unless
and until the injunction in the Beatty matter is dissolved; and (2) if the Court grants Defendants’
forthcoming motion to dissolve the injunction, Defendants will carry out work substantially in
accordance with the plan proposed to and approved by the Center’s Board (and which is being
filed with the Court). Defendants have pledged to inform Plaintiffs and the Court if there is any
change in the Board’s plans that would constitute a reversal of the Center’s position that the
building will not be demolished and that no new structure will be constructed. Plaintiffs reserve
2
---
<!-- page 3 -->
Case 1:26-cv-00981-CRC Document 62 Filed 08/28/26 Page 3 of 6
all rights in the event that Defendants’ plans change or work commences at the Center without the
Beatty injunction having been dissolved.
The parties therefore request that the Court stay discovery and the parties’ Rule 26 and
Local Rule 16.3 submissions until the Court rules on Defendants’ forthcoming motion to dissolve
the injunction entered in the Beatty matter, or until further order of the Court. The parties propose
to submit a meet-and-confer report addressing the topics set forth in the Court’s August 7, 2026
Order within fourteen days of the Court’s ruling on Defendants’ forthcoming motion to dissolve
the preliminary injunction in the Beatty matter, with a scheduling conference to be held thereafter
at the Court’s convenience.
3
---
<!-- page 4 -->
Case 1:26-cv-00981-CRC Document 62 Filed 08/28/26 Page 4 of 6
Dated: August 28, 2026 Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Thaddeus A. Heuer BRETT A. SHUMATE
Gregory B. Craig (164640) Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division
Rawda Fawaz (90015786)
FOLEY HOAG LLP ERIC J. HAMILTON
1717 K Street N.W. Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 223-1200 DIANE KELLEHER
gcraig@foleyhoag.com Branch Director
rfawaz@foleyhoag.com
CHRISTOPHER M. LYNCH
Thaddeus A. Heuer (pro hac vice) Chief Litigation Counsel
Kevin Y. Chen (pro hac vice)
Matthew F. Casassa (pro hac vice) /s/ Pierce J. Anon
Marilyn Icsman (pro hac vice) PIERCE J. ANON
FOLEY HOAG LLP N.Y. Bar No. 6184303
155 Seaport Boulevard, Suite 1600 Trial Attorney
Boston, MA 02210 U.S. Department of Justice
Tel: (617) 832-1000 Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
theuer@foleyhoag.com 1100 L Street NW
kchen@foleyhoag.com Washington, DC 20530
mcasassa@foleyhoag.com (202) 305-7573
micsman@foleyhoag.com Pierce.Anon@usdoj.gov
/s/ Gregory Alan Werkheiser Counsel for Defendants
Gregory Alan Werkheiser (VA210)
Marion Forsyth Werkheiser (486465)
Lydia Dexter (OR0032)
Jessie Barrington (VA224)
Caitlin McCurdy (NH0004)
Katherine Lee Sorrell (TX0109)
CULTURAL HERITAGE PARTNERS, PLLC
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1025
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 567-7594
greg@culturalheritagepartners.com
marion@culturalheritagepartners.com
lydia@culturalheritagepartners.com
jessie@culturalheritagepartners.com
caitlin@culturalheritagepartners.com
katherine@culturalheritagepartners.com
/s/ Abbe David Lowell
Abbe David Lowell (358651)
4
---
<!-- page 5 -->
Case 1:26-cv-00981-CRC Document 62 Filed 08/28/26 Page 5 of 6
Caleb Hayes-Deats (1643213)
Isabella M. Oishi (90018056)
Angela Reilly (pro hac vice)
LOWELL & ASSOCIATES, PLLC
1250 H Street N.W., Suite 250
Washington, DC 20005
T: (202) 964-6110
F: (202) 964-6116
alowellpublicoutreach@lowellandassociates.com
chayes-deats@lowellandassociates.com
ioishi@lowellandassociates.com
areilly@lowellandassociates.com
Counsel for Plaintiffs
5
---
<!-- page 6 -->
Case 1:26-cv-00981-CRC Document 62 Filed 08/28/26 Page 6 of 6
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Matthew F. Casassa, hereby certify that on August 28, 2026, I electronically filed this
document and the addendum thereto using the Court’s CM/ECF system, which automatically
serves this document upon all counsel of record.
/s/ Matthew F. Casassa
Matthew F. Casassa
6