Case Detail

FOIA Project Annotation: A federal court in Michigan has ruled that the Glennborough Homeowners Association does not have standing to pursue FOIA litigation against the U.S. Postal Service because the FOIA requests submitted to the agency identified Kathryn Marx, a resident of the subdivision, as the named requester and contained no mention of Glennborough. Glennborough, a residential subdivision in Ypsilanti, petitioned the Postal Service to change its zip code to one in Ann Arbor. USPS denied the request. Marx then submitted two FOIA requests for records concerning Glennborough's proposed zip code change. After the agency denied the request, Marx filed an administrative appeal. The agency responded by disclosing some records, but Marx contended that the response was incomplete. Glennborough then filed suit, challenging the agency's decision not to grant the zip code change, as well as the agency's FOIA responses. Although Marx's FOIA requests did not mention her affiliation with Glennborough, in its complaint she was referred to as a "Glennborough resident and member of its zip code committee." Dismissing the FOIA claim for lack of standing, the court explained that "plaintiff did not make the FOIA requests at issue in this case. Marx did. Nowhere do Marx's FOIA requests state that Plaintiff is making the request or that Marx is acting in an official capacity on behalf of Plaintiff. Furthermore, the complaint does not include an allegation that Plaintiff suffered an injury. The complaint simply states that a FOIA request was sent. Defendant did not timely respond to the request, and the responses Defendant did provide were incomplete." The court observed that "while it is in society's abstract interest to have federal agencies comply with FOIA, Defendant's alleged violations do not alone establish standing for Plaintiff." Glennborough argued that it had standing to sue and "because it has standing to sue Marx can be added as an additional plaintiff under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(a)(3)." The court disagreed, noting instead that "Plaintiff lacks standing to bring this FOIA claim, and the court will not substitute Marx into the lawsuit using Rule 17(a)(3)."
Issues: Request - Perfected request

Date Filed	Doc #	Docket Text
2020-09-15	1	COMPLAINT filed by Glennborough Homeowners Association against Glennborough Homeowners Association with Jury Demand. Plaintiff requests summons issued. Receipt No: AMIEDC-8046810 - Fee: $ 400. County of 1st Plaintiff: Washtenaw - County Where Action Arose: Washtenaw - County of 1st Defendant: Washtenaw. [ Previously dismissed case: No] [ Possible companion case(s): USDC, 97-cv-761172-DT, Judge Patrick J. Duggan ] (Bruetsch, Thomas) (Entered: 09/15/2020)
2020-09-15		A United States Magistrate Judge of this Court is available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 636c and FRCP 73. The Notice, Consent, and Reference of a Civil Action to a Magistrate Judge form is available for download at http://www.mied.uscourts.gov (DPer) (Entered: 09/15/2020)
2020-09-15	2	SUMMONS Issued for *The United States Postal Service* (DPer) (Entered: 09/15/2020)
2020-09-15	3	SUMMONS Issued for the United States Attorney and the Office of the Attorney General. (DPer) (Entered: 09/15/2020)
2020-10-30	4	STIPULATION AND ORDER for an Extension of time for Defendant to answer, ( Response due by 12/29/2020 ) Signed by District Judge Robert H. Cleland. (LWag) (Entered: 10/30/2020)
2020-11-19	5	NOTICE of Appearance by James J. Carty on behalf of The United States Postal Service. (Carty, James) (Entered: 11/19/2020)
2020-12-29	6	MOTION to Dismiss by The United States Postal Service. (Attachments: # 1 Index of Exhibits, # 2 Exhibit 1 - Original Complaint, # 3 Exhibit 2 - Answer, # 4 Exhibit 3 - Motion to Dismiss, # 5 Exhibit 4 - First Opinion, Duggan, J., # 6 Exhibit 5 - Amended Complaint, # 7 Exhibit 6 - Second USPS Motion, # 8 Exhibit 7 - Second Opinion, Duggan, J., # 9 Exhibit 8 - Motion for Civil Contempt, # 10 Exhibit 9 - Response to Motion for Civil Contempt, # 11 Exhibit 10 - Duve Declaration, # 12 Exhibit 11 - Order Deeming Motion to Be Withdrawn, # 13 Exhibit 12 - First Marx FOIA, # 14 Exhibit 13 - Response to First Marx FOIA, # 15 Exhibit 14 - Second Marx FOIA, # 16 Exhibit 15 - USPS Acknowledgment, # 17 Exhibit 16 - USPS Partial Denial, # 18 Exhibit 17 - Marx Appeal, # 19 Exhibit 18 - Appeal Response, # 20 Exhibit 19 - September 2018 Letter, # 21 Exhibit 20 - October Marx Response, # 22 Exhibit 21 - Final FOIA Letter) (Carty, James) (Entered: 12/29/2020)
2021-01-06	7	NOTICE OF HEARING on 6 MOTION to Dismiss . Motion Hearing set for 3/24/2021 02:00 PM before District Judge Robert H. Cleland (LWag) (Entered: 01/06/2021)
2021-01-12	8	RESPONSE to 6 MOTION to Dismiss filed by Glennborough Homeowners Association. (Ciavatta, Savana) (Entered: 01/12/2021)
2021-01-26	9	REPLY to Response re 6 MOTION to Dismiss filed by The United States Postal Service. (Carty, James) (Entered: 01/26/2021)
2021-03-08	10	OPINION AND ORDER granting 6 Defendant's Motion to Dismiss and Dismissing Case. Signed by District Judge Robert H. Cleland. (LWag) (Entered: 03/08/2021)
2021-03-08	11	JUDGMENT in favor of Defendant United States Postal Service against Plaintiff Glennborough Homeowners Association (LWag) (Entered: 03/08/2021)
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