Skip to main content

Brook v. Holzerland, No. 23-00379, 2024 WL 4274872 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 23, 2024) (Crone, J.)

Date

Brook v. Holzerland, No. 23-00379, 2024 WL 4274872 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 23, 2024) (Crone, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s termination from employment as a surgeon

Disposition:  Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; granting defendant’s motion to dismiss

  • Litigation Considerations, Statute of Limitations:  The court holds that “[plaintiff’s] FOIA claims accrued without any factual injury or final agency action, and the statute of limitations has run.”  The court explains that “to bring a FOIA claim, a litigant needs to show only that he exhausted his remedies . . . and that the agency improperly withheld documents.”  “Once those elements are complete and present, the claims accrue.”  Thus, the court finds that when plaintiff’s claims were constructively exhausted, and not when there was a ‘final agency action factually injured him,’ is the start date for his claims accruing.  “[Plaintiff’s] FOIA claims have lapsed, and his claims are dismissed.”
Court Decision Topic(s)
District Court opinions
Litigation Considerations, Statute of Limitations
Updated November 5, 2024