Ramzi v. Blinken

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: September 13, 2023
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2023-1696
• Status: Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

MONA RAMZI,

Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action No. 23-cv-1696 (TSC)

ANTONY BLINKEN et. al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff Mona Ramzi seeks a writ of mandamus against Antony Blinken, in his official

capacity as United States Secretary of State, as well as other United States Government officials,

to compel action on her Diversity Visa Lottery application. See Compl., ECF No. 1. On August

21, 2023, Defendants moved to dismiss this action pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), and Plaintiff has failed to respond to the motion within fourteen days, as

required under Local Civil Rule 7(b). Thus, the court will exercise its discretion, treat the

motion as conceded, and dismiss the Complaint without prejudice.

If a party fails to oppose a motion to dismiss, “the Court may treat the motion as

conceded.” Local Civ. R. 7(b). This case presents a “straightforward” example of that failure.

Cohen v. Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of the D.C., 819 F.3d 476 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (quoting Fox v.

Am. Airlines, Inc., 389 F.3d 1291, 1294 (D.C. Cir. 2004). Plaintiff’s opposition was due on

September 4, 2023, but she has “failed to respond at all to the motion to dismiss” or otherwise

remedy that failure by seeking an extension or leave to late file. Id. at 483–84. That alone

warrants dismissal. Id. at 483. However, conscious of “the clear preference of the Federal Rules

to resolve disputes on their merits,” id. at 482, the dismissal will be without prejudice.

Page 1 of 2 A corresponding Order will accompany this Memorandum Opinion.

Date: September 13, 2023

Tanya S. Chutkan TANYA S. CHUTKAN United States District Judge

Page 2 of 2