Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Dep't of Agric., No. 17-00949, 2017 WL 3478848 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 14, 2017) (Orrick, J.)

Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Dep't of Agric., No. 17-00949, 2017 WL 3478848 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 14, 2017) (Orrick, J.)

Re:  Blocked public access to Animal Care Information Search ("ACIS") database and Enforcement Actions database

Disposition:  Granting defendant's motion to dismiss

• Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies & Proactive Disclosures:  "As [the court] concluded in the [preliminary injunction] Order, courts cannot compel agencies to make documents available to the public at large under FOIA's reading room provision."  "As a result, this court lacks jurisdiction to hear plaintiffs' FOIA claim."  Additionally, the court finds that, as explained in the earlier preliminary injunction order, "because FOIA provides an adequate alternative remedy, plaintiffs' APA claim for 'failure to affirmatively disclose' is not reviewable by this court."