Lewis B. Smith Helen M. Smith v. Nicholas Brady, Secretary of Treasury John Murphy, Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue

BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge:

Lewis B. Smith and Helen M. Smith (“Smiths”) sued the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) seeking to have a letter expunged from the Smiths’ files and to prevent the IRS from using such a letter in the future. The letter labeled their church, the Church of Scientology, a “sham” religion. After various motions to dismiss the case were rejected by the district court, the suit was settled almost a year after it was filed. The Smiths received most of the relief requested in their complaint. The district court then granted the Smiths’ request for attorney’s fees pursuant to…