Codrea v. ATF, No. 15-0988, 2017 WL 4334119 (D.D.C. Sept. 28, 2017) (Howell, J.)

Codrea v. ATF, No. 15-0988, 2017 WL 4334119 (D.D.C. Sept. 28, 2017) (Howell, J.)

Re:  Request for six categories of documents concerning federal firearms

Disposition:  Denying plaintiffs' motion for attorney fees

• Attorney Fees, Eligibility:  The court holds that "plaintiffs cannot establish their eligibility as the prevailing party because they have not demonstrated that 'the institution and prosecution of the litigation cause[d] the agency to release the documents obtained during the pendency of the litigation.'"  The court finds that "[c]ausation . . . requires more than correlation and, thus, in the context of FOIA attorney's fees, 'the mere filing of the complaint and the subsequent release of the documents is insufficient to establish causation.'"  The court finds that "ATF has sufficiently described administrative issues due to backlogs that 'delay[ed] . . . beginning work on plaintiffs' FOIA request.'"  "In sum, the agency was transparent about the volume of records gathered for review as well as technical and other difficulties requiring additional time to process responsive records."