Zambrano

OVERVIEW

This case presents the question of whether a court can reconsider the issue of subject matter-jurisdiction for purposes of awarding fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”) when the underlying action had previously been dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, and that decision has become final. We conclude that it cannot.

Plaintiffs appeal the district court's denial of fees in this class action, which deals with a challenge to regulations as applied and implemented by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”). 1 After dismissing the action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, Plaintiffs moved for fees under the EAJA. The district court denied this motion, again basing that decision on lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

This case began as a class action challenge to regulations applied by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) in connection with its implementation of the legalization provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 *1147 (“IRCA”). The case has a lengthy procedural history spanning ten years in three different courts. Due to the nexus between the case history and the…