Smith v. DOT, No. 19-01482, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20984 (D. Or. Feb. 4, 2020) (Aiken, J.)

Smith v. DOT, No. 19-01482, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20984 (D. Or. Feb. 4, 2020) (Aiken, J.)

Re:  Request for certain DOT records

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies:  "Because the evidence in the record does not demonstrate that plaintiff fully complied with FOIA and DOT's regulations when mailing his request, the Court cannot conclude that plaintiff is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on the issue of whether his FOIA request was 'properly mailed and served.'"  The court finds that "[b]ased on the evidence in the summary judgment record, plaintiffs mailing was not addressed to the 'appropriate component,' as required under FOIA and DOT's FOIA regulations."