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Grand Canyon Trust v. Zinke, No. 17-849, 2018 WL 2363948 (D.D.C. May 24, 2018) (Howell, C. J.)

Date

Grand Canyon Trust v. Zinke, No. 17-849, 2018 WL 2363948 (D.D.C. May 24, 2018) (Howell, C. J.)

Re:  Requests for records concerning certain secretarial order

Disposition:  Denying plaintiff's motion for attorney fees and costs

  • Attorney Fees, Eligibility:  The court finds that "plaintiff has failed to establish eligibility for attorney's fees and costs."  The court finds that "the evidence submitted by the plaintiff in support of its fee motion makes clear that [defendants] had begun processing the plaintiff's request well before this lawsuit was initiated and that both agencies had even made partial releases to the plaintiff before the complaint was filed."  "Based on this timeline and the record in this case, the plaintiff has failed to show that this suit 'cause[d] the agenc[ies] to release the documents.'"  "Instead, the record shows that 'an unavoidable delay accompanied by due diligence in the administrative process was the actual reason for the agency[ies'] failure to respond to [the] request.'"
Court Decision Topic(s)
Attorney Fees
District Court opinions
Updated January 31, 2020