Lopez v. U.S., No. 14-14419, 2016 WL 3771824 (11th Cir. July 15, 2016) (per curiam)

Lopez v. U.S., No. 14-14419, 2016 WL 3771824 (11th Cir. July 15, 2016) (per curiam)

Re: Request for records concerning requester's prison trust account

Disposition: Vacating dismissal of requester's FOIA claims; remanding for further proceedings

• Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit finds that "[i]t does not appear that [the requester] received the Warden's memorandum in response to his FOIA request." "Thus, [the requester] plausibly alleged that BOP failed to reasonably respond to his FOIA request." "As with most FOIA cases, this claim should be handled on a motion for summary judgment."
   
• Litigation Considerations, Summary Judgment: The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit holds that "in concluding that the BOP did not need to respond to [two of the requester's] . . . FOIA requests, the district court relied on a FOIA Administrator's declaration that was attached to the United States's supplemental motion to dismiss." "Thus, the court considered matters outside the pleadings but did not treat the motion to dismiss as one for summary judgment and give [the requester] notice and an opportunity to respond." Similarly, regarding another request, "the [district] court raised the issue of improper venue sua sponte without giving [the requester] an opportunity to present his views on the issue, including whether transfer, as opposed to dismissal, was appropriate."