Hooker v. VA, No. 22-956, 2023 WL 1929701 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 10, 2023) (Honeywell, J.)

Hooker v. VA, No. 22-956, 2023 WL 1929701 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 10, 2023) (Honeywell, J.)

Re:  Request for documents, videos, and recordings related to plaintiff’s visit to emergency room at Bay Pines VA Hospital and resulting arrest

Disposition:  Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment

Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal:  The court finds that “[r]eview of the record and the declaration the VA has filed in support of its motion demonstrates that the requested materials were produced to [plaintiff] after the criminal trespass action had concluded and Exemption 7(A) was no longer applicable.”  “As a preliminary matter, the Court observes that the initial withholding of the records pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A) was proper.”  “The matters sought by [plaintiff] in his FOIA Complaint were directly related to the charges he was facing in [his criminal case] pertaining to the December 2021 criminal trespass incident at Bay Pines.”  “Thus, the documents were exempt from disclosure during the pendency of that proceeding.”  The court notes that “[t]he information provided to [plaintiff] was redacted under Exemption 6,” but relates that “the instant motion for summary judgment is unopposed.”  The court holds that “[b]ecause the VA has provided all the requested information to [plaintiff] pursuant to his FOIA request, his FOIA claim is moot.”