Yunes v. DOJ, No. 14-1397, 2015 WL 55318 (D.D.C. Jan. 5, 2015) (Bates, J.)

Yunes v. DOJ, No. 14-1397, 2015 WL 55318 (D.D.C. Jan. 5, 2015) (Bates, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff and criminal or terrorist activities

Disposition: Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies:  The court holds that its "consideration of [plaintiff's] claims is premature."  The court explains that "[t]he government's twenty-day period expired" and plaintiff "would have been well within his rights to file suit immediately without pursuing any administrative appeal."  "But he did not do so until [later,] [a]nd in the interim, . . . the FBI responded to the request: [plaintiff's] complaint, then, was a week too late to avoid the exhaustion requirement."  The court also reject's plaintiff's contention "that the timing of the [FBI's response] letter's receipt, rather than its mailing, is what counts."  The court finds that this "interpretation finds no support in the relevant caselaw."