Opinion ID: 2763094
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: DaSilva’s Requests for Attorneys Fees

Text: After the FOIA and PRC issues were resolved, DaSilva timely filed two motions for attorneys fees pursuant to FOIA and the EAJA respectively. In these motions, he requested $45,282.50 in attorneys fees (plus $793.94 in costs) for the FOIA litigation and $18,998 in attorneys fees (plus $432.04 in costs) for the PRC litigation. The district court denied his EAJA motion, and DaSilva appealed. Adjudication of the FOIA fee request was significantly more complex. In an order filed on February 24, 2014 (“FOIA Order I”), the district court ruled that DaSilva was eligible for and entitled to fees for Counsel’s hours litigating the production of the second set of documents, but not the first set. It ordered DaSilva to file a revised timesheet that contained only hours related to the second set. The court also expressed concern that several timesheet entries 4 Case: 14-30296 Document: 00512876525 Page: 5 Date Filed: 12/19/2014 No. 14-30296 appeared entirely unrelated to DaSilva’s FOIA claim, and it reduced Counsel’s hourly rate to $200 per hour from $295. 4 DaSilva appealed. On March 9, 2014, DaSilva filed his second motion for fees, attaching a revised timesheet. When USCIS failed to file an opposition, the district court’s law clerk, following routine chambers practice, called USCIS’s counsel to inquire if a response would be forthcoming. USCIS immediately requested leave to file an untimely response, which the district court granted over DaSilva’s vehement objections. DaSilva appealed that order. Finally, in an order filed on May 7, 2014 (“FOIA Order II”), the district court awarded DaSilva $4,170 in attorneys fees. Again, DaSilva appealed.