Rodriguez v. DOJ, No. 14-173, 2015 WL 3947305 (S.D. Ohio June 29, 2015) (Smith, J.)

Rodriguez v. DOJ, No. 14-173, 2015 WL 3947305 (S.D. Ohio June 29, 2015) (Smith, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning plaintiff

Disposition: Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Jurisdiction:  The court holds that "[p]laintiff's claims regarding [one requested exhibit] are dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction."  The court explains that "there is no genuine issue of material fact that the DEA does not possess [the requested exhibit] in any form."  "Where the agency does not possess the requested information, there is no subject matter jurisdiction in this Court."
   
• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  "[T]he Court finds that DEA has met its burden of proving the adequacy of its search."  The court relates that "[defendant] conducted a search for Plaintiff through the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Information System" which "contains all administrative, general, and criminal investigative files compiled by the DEA."  "As a result of the NADDIS search using Plaintiff's name and date of birth, [defendant] found one investigative case file containing information regarding Plaintiff."  Additionally, the court finds that "[p]laintiff has provided no countervailing evidence relating to the search procedure."
   
• Exemptions 7(D):  The court holds that "Exemption 7(D) applies in this case."  The court finds that "[t]here is no dispute that Exhibit N–3 contains information regarding a confidential source."  The court particularly notes the presence of "'CS'[, which] is an identification code for a coded informant who is cooperating with the DEA under a written cooperative agreement."