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Velasquez v. DEA, No. 11-cv-0820-GPC-NLS, 2013 WL 686727 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 25, 2013) (Curiel, J.)

Date
Re: First party request for laboratory reports related to plaintiff's conviction Disposition: Granting defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the responsive records were already produced thus making plaintiff's claims moot
  • Proper Party Defendant: The court dismisses plaintiff's claims against DEA's chief of the Freedom of Information Operations Unit because "[t]he proper defendant in a FOIA action is the federal agency, not the individual employees of the agency."
  • Mootness: The court holds that plaintiff's claims are moot because "the responsive agency records have already been produced." The court declines to consider plaintiff's allegations that the agency produced "fake documents." It notes that "the attorney responsible for matters involving FOIA claims submitted a declaration of assurance that a reasonable search was conducted pursuant to Plaintiff's FOIA request, as well as an explanation for the appearance of the Report." It goes on to declare that it "cannot compel nor engage in any further action regarding the authenticity of the documents because it lacks jurisdiction to make this determination."
Court Decision Topic(s)
District Court opinions
Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal
Updated August 6, 2014