Davis v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22411

FOIA action by Adam Davis against FBI, EOUSA, Treasury, FinCEN, DHS, IRS, Secret Service, SEC seeking all records pertaining to himself.
Motions: defendants Treasury, FinCEN, DHS, SEC, and Secret Service move to dismiss or for summary judgment for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and did not oppose the motion.
Court evaluates whether administrative exhaustion was satisfied and whether agencies properly responded or acknowledged the requests.
Court grants moving defendants' summary judgment and dismisses claims against those agencies.
FinCEN and Secret Service had timely agency responses and require exhaustion before judicial review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether plaintiff exhausted administrative remedies against Treasury and DHS	Davis	Treasury/DHS	Yes, exhaustion not satisfied; grant for those agencies upheld.
Whether SEC adequately received plaintiff's FOIA request	Davis claimed request to SEC	SEC had no record of receipt	SEC not liable; dismissal appropriate.
Whether FinCEN and Secret Service required exhaustion prior to suit	Davis	Agency responses occurred before suit	Exhaustion required; court should compel exhaustion before review.
Whether the agency responses supported summary judgment under FOIA standards	Davis failed to oppose	Affidavits show no responsive records or proper processing	Summary judgment granted for moving agencies.

Oglesby v. Dep't of the Army, 920 F.2d 57 (D.C.Cir.1990) (exhaustion required before judicial review if agency responded)
Hidalgo v. FBI, 344 F.3d 1256 (D.C.Cir.2003) (exhaustion is not jurisdictional but precludes review if not completed)
Military Audit Project v. Casey, 656 F.2d 724 (D.C.Cir.1981) (agency can justify nondisclosure with detailed affs for summary judgment)
Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C.Cir.1973) (establishes standard for evaluating FOIA exemptions with agency affidavits)