FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
March 25, 2009
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
TENTH CIRCUIT
OLEG ALEXANDROVICH
STARYKH,
Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 07-4258
v. (D. Utah)
ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., * Attorney (D.C. No. 2:07-CV-00058-BSJ)
General; JANET NAPOLITANO, **
Secretary of Department of Homeland
Security; ALFONSO AGUILAR,
Chief of Office of Citizenship;
ROBERT S. MUELLER, III, Director
of Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Defendants - Appellants.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT ***
Before HENRY, Chief Judge, TACHA, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
*
Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 43(c)(2), Eric H. Holder, Jr. is substituted for
Michael B. Mukasey as United States Attorney General, effective February 3,
2009.
**
Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 43(c)(2), Janet Napolitano is substituted for
Michael Chertoff as Secretary of Department of Homeland Security, effective
January 21, 2009.
***
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited,
however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th
Cir. R. 32.1.
I. Introduction
Oleg Alexandrovich Starykh, the appellee in this matter, filed a petition
pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b) after United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) failed to adjudicate his application for naturalization within 120
days. The district court resolved the matter by remanding to USCIS “with
instructions to administer the oath of citizenship to [Starykh] on or before July
18, 2007.” Thereafter, Starykh filed a motion seeking an award of attorneys’ fees
under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”). The district court concluded
Starykh was the prevailing party in the § 1447(b) matter. It further concluded
neither the underlying agency action nor Defendants’ litigation position was
substantially justified. Accordingly, the court granted Starykh’s motion and
awarded him $7629 in attorneys’ fees. Defendants appeal, challenging both of the
district court’s conclusions relating to the award of attorneys’ fees. Exercising
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms the judgment of the
district court.
II. Background
Starykh filed a naturalization application with USCIS on October 18, 2005.
On November 14, 2005, USCIS filed a request for a name check with the FBI.
Starykh was interviewed and examined by USCIS on February 1, 2006, and told
he met the statutory requirements for naturalization but his application could not
be adjudicated until the FBI completed the name check. One year after his
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examination, Starykh’s application had not been adjudicated to finality,
prompting him to file a petition in federal court seeking a judgment that he was
entitled to naturalization or, in the alternative, a remand to USCIS with
instructions to adjudicate his application within fifteen days. See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1447(b) (providing an applicant with a judicial remedy if USCIS fails to
adjudicate a naturalization application within 120 days of the examination).
In lieu of an answer to Starykh’s petition, Defendants filed a motion
seeking an unrestricted remand of the matter to USCIS “for the purpose of
adjudicating [Starykh’s] naturalization application and scheduling a naturalization
proceeding when the application is approved.” In the alternative, Defendants
asked the court to stay the matter pending completion of the FBI name check.
The district court denied Defendants’ motion and ordered them to file an answer
to Starykh’s petition detailing the specific facts relating to the processing of his
application. Defendants filed their answer on June 11, 2007, and, therein,
informed the court the FBI completed Starykh’s name check on June 6, 2007.
Starykh responded by filing a motion seeking a remand of the matter to USCIS
with instructions to administer the oath of citizenship to him within fifteen days.
The district court granted Starykh’s motion and entered an order specifically
instructing USCIS “to administer the oath of citizenship to [Starykh] on or before
July 18, 2007.”
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After the naturalization ceremony, Starykh filed a motion seeking
attorneys’ fees pursuant to the EAJA. 28 U.S.C. § 2412. The district court
granted the motion over Defendants’ objection, concluding Starykh was the
prevailing party in the § 1447(b) proceeding and further concluding neither the
underlying agency action nor Defendants’ litigation position was substantially
justified. It is from this ruling Defendants appeal.
III. Discussion
The EAJA provides that “a court shall award to a prevailing party other
than the United States fees and other expenses . . . incurred by that party in any
civil action.” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). This court reviews de novo the
question of prevailing party status. Al-Maleki v. Holder, No. 07-4260, 2009 WL
692612, at *2 (10th Cir. March 18, 2009). A prevailing party is not entitled to
attorneys’ fees if the position of the United States was substantially justified. Id.
The government bears the burden of demonstrating its position was substantially
justified and we review the district court’s ruling on the issue for an abuse of
discretion. Hackett v. Barnhart, 475 F.3d 1166, 1172 (10th Cir. 2007).
Defendants challenge the district court’s conclusion that Starykh was the
prevailing party and its additional conclusion that the position of the United
States was not substantially justified. Having reviewed the entire record and
considered the arguments of the parties on appeal, we conclude the prevailing
party question presented in this appeal is controlled by our analysis of the same
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issue in Al-Maleki v. Holder. Further, the record in this case relevant to the
question of whether the position of the United States was substantially justified
does not differ in any material way from the record on the same issue in Al-
Maleki. Accordingly, the district court’s determination that Starykh was the
prevailing party in the § 1447(b) matter and its conclusion that the position of the
United States was not substantially justified are affirmed.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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