UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ) JOAN WADELTON, et al, ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 13-cv-412 (TSC) ) DEPARTMENT OF STATE, ) ) Defendant. ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION 1 Plaintiffs Joan Wadelton and the news website Truthout filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) against the Department of State (“State”), seeking to compel the release of records relating to Wadelton’s tenure at the agency. After several years of litigation and several rounds of briefing, this court entered summary judgment in favor of State on September 22, 2016. Plaintiffs request attorney’s fees based primarily on the court’s denial of State’s proposed disclosure schedule and the denial of State’s first motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the court will GRANT Plaintiffs’ fee petition in part, and DENY the petition in part. 1 This court previously issued an order, ECF No. 80, granting in part and denying in part the Plaintiffs’ motion for fees. See ECF No. 68. This Memorandum Opinion explains the court’s reasons for that Order. Page 1 of 31 I. BACKGROUND Wadelton joined State in 1980 and worked her way up to the highest rank short of the Senior Foreign Service. Compl. ¶ 7. She alleges that State’s Bureau of Human Resources (“HR”) began treating her unfairly around 2000 when she learned that HR planned to “remove” her from her position. She protested and later filed a complaint with the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) about alleged abuses by HR. Id. ¶¶ 14-18. Wadelton claims that because of her complaints—despite having outstanding performance reviews—she suffered retaliation, including reduction of responsibilities, HR’s submission of her incomplete personnel file to authorities considering her for promotion, and threats to force her into involuntary retirement. Id. ¶¶ 18-19, 22. Wadelton responded by filing grievances with the Foreign Service Grievance Board (“FSGB”) which ordered State to reconsider her for some of the promotions she had unsuccessfully sought. Id. ¶¶ 20-28. Wadelton claims that during her employment at State, she collected evidence demonstrating that the treatment she received from HR was just one example of widespread misconduct. Id. ¶ 15. She sought to prove that several high-level HR managers were manipulating the selection board promotion process to benefit themselves and their allies. Id. To that end, Wadelton provided Congressional representatives with information about HR’s activities, after which several representatives became involved, and the Government Accountability Office announced an impending investigation. Id. ¶¶ 33-39. Wadelton also lodged additional complaints with the OIG on multiple occasions, and she claims OIG ultimately issued a report criticizing HR’s procedures and accusing the department of mismanagement and falsifying information. Id. ¶¶ 31, 35. Page 2 of 31 Consistent with the directive from the FSGB, State reconsidered Wadelton for some of the promotions she had sought, but refused to reverse its prior decisions. Id. ¶¶ 34-35. Wadelton then sued the agency in January 2011. See Wadelton v. Clinton, 11-cv-49-BJR (D.D.C.). 2 State terminated her several months ...
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