Opinion
08-22-2013
KENNETH D. PASKAR; FRIENDS OF LAGUARDIA AIRPORT, INC., Petitioners, v. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION; MICHAEL P. HUERTA; RAY LAHOOD, Secretary, United States Department of Transportation, Respondents.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MEMORANDUM
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Federal Aviation Administration
Submitted June 5, 2013
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
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Pasadena, California
Before: KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, GOULD and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Petitioner Kenneth Paskar seeks to recover $19,450 in fees accrued in connection with his Petition for Review under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Because Paskar's challenge to the FAA's planned closure of various air traffic control towers was dismissed without a judgment on the merits or court-ordered consent decree, Paskar does not qualify as a "prevailing party" within the meaning of the EAJA. See Perez-Arellano v. Smith, 279 F.3d 791, 794 (9th Cir. 2002); see also Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. W. Va. Dep't. of Health & Human Res., 532 U.S. 598, 610 (2001). Accordingly, his application for fees is
DENIED.