Tex. Roadhouse, Inc. v. EEOC, No. 14-652, 2015 WL 925894 (W.D. Ky. Mar. 3, 2015) (McKinley, Jr., C. J.)

Tex. Roadhouse, Inc. v. EEOC, No. 14-652, 2015 WL 925894 (W.D. Ky. Mar. 3, 2015) (McKinley, Jr., C. J.)

Re: Request for records concerning age discrimination investigation of plaintiff

Disposition: Granting defendant's motion to dismiss

• Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies:  "After a review of the statute and case law, the Court finds that [plaintiff] must first appeal to the EEOC the EEOC's decision to redact or withhold certain documents pursuant to FOIA exemptions."  The court explains that "[w]hile it is clear that the constructive exhaustion provision allows a person making a FOIA request to break out of the administrative process and proceed directly to federal court in the face of an unresponsive agency, the difficulty arises when the agency responds after the lawsuit is initiated."  However, the court finds that "[i]n as much as the complaint and amended complaint could be construed as asserting a claim that the EEOC wrongfully applied exemptions to redact and withhold documents, the Court will dismiss without prejudice [plaintiff's] FOIA claims so that [plaintiff] first may administratively exhaust those claims."  The court also "dismiss[es] without prejudice [an additional] claim so that [plaintiff] first may respond to [a] reasonable fee request letter and then administratively exhaust the claim."