Mann v. O'Neill, No. 14-11042, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1722 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 8, 2015) (Friedman, S. J.)

Mann v. O'Neill, No. 14-11042, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1722 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 8, 2015) (Friedman, S. J.)

Re: Request for BOP records concerning plaintiff

Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff's complaint

• Litigation Considerations, Pleadings and Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies:  The court holds that "the complaint fails not only because it does not name the BOP as a defendant, but also because it does not allege the BOP finally denied his request or that plaintiff exhausted his administrative remedies -- all fatal defects."  First, the court finds that "[t]he only proper defendant in a Freedom of Information Act ('FOIA') complaint is the 'agency' which has 'improperly withheld [records] from the complainant.'"  "Individuals are not proper defendants."  "The only two defendants remaining are the Department of Justice and its Office of Information Policy."  "However, plaintiff does not allege that these defendants have denied his request(s) for information, and he therefore fails to state any FOIA claim against them."  "Nor would any claim have been stated against the BOP if plaintiff had named it as a defendant, as the complaint indicates that the BOP's administrative appeals office had, shortly before plaintiff commenced suit, remanded the request 'for further processing' and 'for release of responsive records.'"  "By plaintiff's own admission, the BOP had not finally denied his request but was still processing it at the time plaintiff commenced suit."