Church Of Scientology Of California v. United States Postal Service

700 F.2d 486 CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF CALIFORNIA, a non-profit corporation, Plaintiff- Appellant, v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE; Benjamin Bailer, Postmaster General; Postal Inspector Service; William J. Cotter, Chief Inspector, Defendants-Appellees. No. 81-5582. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted July 6, 1982. Decided Feb. 4, 1983. As Amended on Denial of Rehearing March 31, 1983. Barry Leigh Weissman, Weissman & Haynes, Beverly Hills, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. Alan L. Ferber, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before ALARCON, POOLE, and BOOCHEVER, Circuit Judges. ALARCON, Circuit Judge: 1 Appellant Church of Scientology of California (hereinafter the Church) appeals from the order of the district court denying attorney's fees to appellant's counsel in an action pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552 (a)(4)(E). 2 Pursuant to the FOIA, attorney's fees may be assessed against the United States in any case in which a complainant has substantially prevailed. The record before us demonstrates that, in…