Kenneth D. Paskar; Friends of Laguardia Airport, Inc. v. Federal Aviation Administration

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
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.
No. 13-71514
FAA-1 No. 13-1070
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Federal Aviation Administration
Submitted June 5, 2013**
Pasadena, California
Before: KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, GOULD and N.R. SMITH, Circuit
Judges.
FILED
AUG 22 2013
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

-- 1 of 2 --

page 2
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.

-- 2 of 2 --