Baird v. Jewell, No. 14-1879, 2015 WL 3409470 (E.D. La. May 27, 2015) (Morgan, J.)

Baird v. Jewell, No. 14-1879, 2015 WL 3409470 (E.D. La. May 27, 2015) (Morgan, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff

Disposition: Denying defendant's motion to sever; granting in part defendant's motion to dismiss plaintiff's FOIA claim

• Litigation Considerations:  The court denies "[d]efendant['s] mo[tion] to sever the Title VII claim from the FOIA claim."  The court explains that "the Title VII claim and the FOIA claim are substantially interrelated," "[t]here is no reason the Court cannot adjudicate [the FOIA] motions while allowing the Title VII claim to proceed under the same case number," "[a] scheduling order is in place [and] [s]everance would upset these deadlines for no good reason," and "the Court cannot conceive of any prejudice that would result from a denial of severance."
   
• Litigation Considerations, Pleadings:  The court holds that "[Secretary of the Department of Interior] is not amenable to suit under FOIA" and, therefore, "[p]laintiff shall amend his complaint to name the proper party defendant(s)."