Moon v. BOP, No. 15-3751, 2016 WL 1696821 (8th Cir. Apr. 28, 2016) (per curiam)

Moon v. BOP, No. 15-3751, 2016 WL 1696821 (8th Cir. Apr. 28, 2016) (per curiam)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff

Disposition: Granting appellant's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis; reversing and remanding district court's dismissal of appellant's complaint

• Litigation Considerations, Pleadings:  The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit "reverse[s] and remand[s] for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."  The court finds that "[w]hile [it] agree[s] that a litigant must exhaust administrative remedies before bringing a FOIA action in federal court, . . . [the court] conclude[s] that because FOIA is silent as to whether exhaustion is a pleading requirement or an affirmative defense, . . . the argument of non-exhaustion is an affirmative defense rather than a pleading requirement."  "Thus, [appellant] was not required to plead exhaustion in his complaint."