Frost v. Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Background

Vinton P. Frost, appearing without a lawyer and proceeding without paying the filing fee, brought a claim under the Freedom of Information Act, a federal law governing access to agency records. Frost alleged that he delivered a records request to the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice on February 14, 2022, and that the agency did not respond.

In an earlier order, the court directed Frost to file an amended complaint providing facts showing that he had completed the agency’s required administrative review process for the FOIA request. Instead, Frost filed a motion for reconsideration. He referred to two letters requesting an “administrative settlement” of claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act. One Justice Department letter acknowledged receipt of an FTCA claim, and another directed him to the Justice Department’s FOIA office for document requests. Frost also submitted a communication concerning a request for “declassification relief” and sought an injunction requiring the defendant to preserve records related to him.

Motion for reconsideration

The court treated Frost’s motion as a request for relief from an order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). The court denied relief under the rule’s first five grounds because the submitted documents all predated the February 14, 2022, FOIA request, did not appear connected to that request, and at least one appeared to concern an FTCA claim rather than a FOIA request. The court concluded that Frost’s filing did not respond to the order requiring an amended complaint and sought relief concerning matters outside this action.

The court also denied relief under Rule 60(b)(6), which permits relief for other reasons in extraordinary circumstances. It found that Frost had not shown extraordinary circumstances warranting relief.

Injunctive relief

The court denied Frost’s request for preliminary injunctive relief and his related order-to-show-cause request. A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary court order issued before final judgment. The court explained that Frost had not shown either a likelihood of success on the merits or sufficiently serious merits questions combined with a strongly favorable balance of hardships. The court also stated that it was not clear that Frost could state a viable FOIA claim.

Disposition

The court denied Frost’s motion requesting reconsideration and injunctive relief. It granted him one final opportunity to file an amended complaint complying with the earlier order within 30 days. The court stated that no summons would issue at that time and that, if Frost did not comply without showing good cause, the complaint would be dismissed for failure to state a claim. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Frost permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for an appeal.

Classification

This is a procedural order because the court ruled on reconsideration and preliminary relief without deciding whether the FOIA claim ultimately succeeds.