SeeSpaeth v. Michigan State Univ. Coll. of Law, 845 F.Supp.2d 48, 57 n. 13 (D.D.C.2012) (severing claims prior to transferring, per § 1404(a)); Abuhouran v. Nicklin, 764 F.Supp.2d 130, 132 (D.D.C.2011) ( “[B]ecause § 1406(a) contemplates the transfer of a ‘case,’ ... the claims must first be severed into separate cases ....”); accordWyndham Assocs. v. Bintliff, 398 F.2d 614, 618–19 (2d Cir.1968) (recognizing that claims must first be severed into separate actions prior to being transferred or retained under § 1404(a)). For the reasons discussed below, the Court i) severs Plaintiff's preliminary injunction because it involves factual events distinct from those forming the basis of the complaint, and ii) severs Plaintiff's Privacy Act claim because it is wholly unrelated to his FOIA claim.
"[T]he only proper defendant in a FOIA action is a federal agency." Abuhouran v. Nicklin, 764 F.Supp.2d 130, 133 (D.D.C. 2011)(quoting Isasi v. Jones, 594 F.Supp.2d 1,4 (D.D.C. 2009), aff'd 2010 WL 2574034 (C.A.D.C. 2010)); Scherer v. U.S., 241 F.Supp.2d 1270, 1278 (D.Kan.), aff'd 78 Fed.Appx. 687 (10th Cir. 2003). In the screening order, the court found that the only named defendant in this case even associated with a federal agency was the "Judge Advocate General of the Navy," and that plaintiff alleged no facts establishing that this court has personal jurisdiction over this defendant or any of the other 5 named defendants, all of whom appeared to be residents of states other than Kansas.