Walston v. DOD, Nos. 15-02202, 16-02523, 2018 WL 1210863 (D.D.C. Mar. 8, 2018) (McFadden, J.)

Walston v. DOD, Nos. 15-02202, 16-02523, 2018 WL 1210863 (D.D.C. Mar. 8, 2018) (McFadden, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning complaint filed by plaintiff regarding alleged discovery that her computer had been hacked

Disposition: Granting defendants' motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  The court holds that "[plaintiff's] allegations about the existence of further responsive records are speculative and the Defendants have adequately demonstrated that their searches were reasonably calculated to identify any responsive records[.]"  Responding to plaintiff's specific arguments, the court relates that "Defendants have submitted an affidavit stating that [the files of the office that plaintiff request be searched] were not likely to contain responsive materials because [that office] had no involvement in the investigation of [plaintiff's] claims[.]"  The court also finds that "[plaintiff's] speculation that [other records] . . . would be identified if the Defendants used certain IP addresses as search terms is insufficient to rebut the Defendants' explanation of the sufficiency of their searches."