Mathis v. DOJ, No. 16-1712, 2018 WL 4637356 (D.D.C. Sept. 27, 2018) (Kelly, J.)

Mathis v. DOJ, No. 16-1712, 2018 WL 4637356 (D.D.C. Sept. 27, 2018) (Kelly, J.)

Re:  Requests for records concerning plaintiff's property

Disposition:  Granting defendants' renewed motion to dismiss and for summary judgment

• Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA:  The court finds that "[plaintiff's] FOIA claim against the Middle District of Georgia must be dismissed[]" because "[t]he definition of 'agency' expressly excludes 'the courts of the United States.'"  Similarly, the court "concludes that the American Red Cross is not an 'agency' for FOIA purposes."
   

• Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests:  Regarding most defendants, the court finds that plaintiff either did not submit a FOIA request which complied with agency regulations or did not submit a FOIA request at all.
   

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  "The Court concludes that the FBI is entitled to summary judgment because it conducted an adequate search."  The court finds that the FBI searched 'the only record system where records about [plaintiff] would likely be maintained," using "variations on [plaintiff's] name, DOB, and SSN."