Walsh v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 23-04164, 2025 WL 1676580 (D.S.D. June 13, 2025) (Schulte, J.)

Walsh v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 23-04164, 2025 WL 1676580 (D.S.D. June 13, 2025) (Schulte, J.)

Re: Request for disciplinary records for two now-retired military generals

Disposition:  Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees

• Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search:  The court relates that “Defendants furnished affidavits from responsible officers detailing their search procedures.”  The court finds that “[t]hese searches were thorough, calculated, and did not uncover any responsive documents.”  “Generally, an agency need show only one reasonable search.”  “Here, however, Defendants have conducted several reasonable searches.”
   
• Attorney Fees, Eligibility:  The court relates that “[Plaintiff] asks for attorney fees and an award of punitive damages payable to him.”  “[Plaintiff] has clearly not ‘substantially prevailed’ here as Defendants have performed reasonable searches that have not uncovered records responsive to [plaintiff’s] FOIA requests.”  “Thus, [plaintiff’s] request for fees and punitive damages is denied.”