Cunningham v. HUD, No. 23-0534, 2023 WL 2955895 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 14, 2023) (Kenney, J.)

Cunningham v. HUD, No. 23-0534, 2023 WL 2955895 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 14, 2023) (Kenney, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning plaintiff’s home mortgage loan

Disposition:  Dismissing plaintiff’s FOIA complaints; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Pleadings:  The court finds that “while FOIA creates disclosure obligations for federal agencies, FOIA claims may not be brought against individual federal officials or employees.”  “Accordingly, [plaintiff’s] FOIA claims against [individual defendants] will be dismissed with prejudice.”
   
• Litigation Considerations, Relief:  The court finds that “money damages are not available under FOIA.”  “Accordingly, to the extent [plaintiff] seeks money damages for alleged FOIA violations, those claims are dismissed with prejudice also.”
   
• Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies:  The court finds that “[plaintiff’s] Complaint does not allege that he has exhausted available administrative remedies [as to his remaining request] and does not allege that HUD failed to respond to his FOIA request as prescribed in the statute.”  “Instead, . . . he alleges only that HUD ignored his request.”  “[Plaintiff’s] FOIA claim is not plausible and must be dismissed.”  “However, he will be granted leave to amend this claim.”