Bell v. FBI, No. 24-1884, 2025 WL 1262496 (S.D. Ill. May 1, 2025) (Gilbert, J.)

Bell v. FBI, No. 24-1884, 2025 WL 1262496 (S.D. Ill. May 1, 2025) (Gilbert, J.)

Re: Request for memorandum of understanding between FBI and Illinois State Police Firearms Services Bureau

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies:  The court holds that “[t]he FBI is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because [plaintiff] failed to exhaust her administrative remedies before filing her FOIA lawsuit.”  “The FBI responded to [plaintiff’s] request within 20 days indicating it had complied with her request by conducting a search and had found nothing.”  “Thus, she is not deemed to have exhausted her administrative remedies under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i), and she needed to pursue an administrative appeal of the determination conveyed in the letter.” “[Plaintiff] did not do that before filing this lawsuit, so she is not entitled to judicial review of her FOIA claim.”