Valadez Moran v. Mayorkas et al

Filing 101

ORDER denying 88 Motion for EAJA Fees. (Written Opinion) Signed by Judge Susan Richard Nelson on 11/22/2024. (JKG)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Adrian Valadez Moran,

Case No. 21-cv-2323 (SRN/ECW)

Plaintiff,
ORDER

v.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Ur Mendoza Jaddou,
and Leslie Tritten,
Defendants.

Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Jalloh Law Office, 7101 Northland Circle N, Suite 115,
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428, for Plaintiff.
Jordan Hummel, Mary Larakers and Tia Hockenberry, Office of Immigration
Litigation—District Court Section, United States Department of Justice, P.O. Box 868,
Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044, for Defendants.
SUSAN RICHARD NELSON, United States District Judge
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Adrian Valadez Moran’s post-judgment
Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) [Doc.
88]. Because the Government’s position was substantially justified, the Court denies the
motion.
I.

Background
Mr. Valadez Moran sued Defendants Alejandro Mayorkas, Ur Mendoza Jaddou,

and Leslie Tritten—heads of United States government agencies and offices that administer
the country’s immigration system—seeking a declaratory judgment that he is a United
States citizen. (Doc. 1.) After a bench trial, the Court detailed its Findings of Facts and
1

Conclusions of Law, and entered a declaratory judgment in Mr. Valadez Moran’s favor.
(Doc. 80.) In short, the Court concluded Mr. Valadez Moran is a United States citizen
because his mother is a United States citizen “who, prior to [his birth], was physically
present in the United States . . . for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at
least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years.” 8 U.S.C. § 1401(g).
(Doc. 80 ¶¶ 55–61.)
Mr. Valadez Moran presented a variety of evidence that his mother was born in
Texas in 1975, moved to Mexico immediately afterward, and later moved back to Texas,
where she lived from 1987 to 1992. (Id. ¶¶ 20–35.) The evidence included live testimony,
affidavits, two birth certificates from different Mexican authorities, and a 2006 courtordered birth certificate from Hildalgo County, Texas. (Id. ¶¶ 3–30.) The Government
contested that Mr. Valadez Moran’s mother was born here, citing a 2023 sworn statement
by his grandmother that his mother was born in Mexico, and a 2015 statement by Mr.
Valadez Moran to a border patrol agent that both he and his parents are citizens of Mexico.
(Id. ¶¶ 9–13, 36–39.) But the Court found the grandmother’s statement not credible
because it was contradicted by a wealth of evidence, including an earlier statement by the
grandmother.

(Id. ¶¶ 13–19.)

And the Court found credible Mr. Valadez Moran’s

testimony that he learned of his mother’s United States citizenship only after the run-in
with border patrol. (Id. ¶ 40.) So “weigh[ing] and assess[ing] the credibility of all the
evidence before it,” the Court found it “more likely than not” that Mr. Valadez Moran’s
mother was born in the United States. (Id. ¶ 19.)

2

As the prevailing party, Mr. Valadez Moran now moves for an award of attorney
fees under the EAJA, 28 U.S.C. § 2412. (Doc. 88; see also Docs. 89, 99.) The Government
opposes the motion, arguing first and foremost that its position was “substantially
justified.” (Doc. 98 at 7–12.)
II.

Analysis
Under the EAJA, a court “shall” award fees and expenses “to a prevailing party

other than the United States . . . unless the court finds that the position of the United States
was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 2412(d)(1)(A).

“The government carries the burden of proving its position was

substantially justified,” and a court “should make ‘only one threshold determination for the
entire civil action.’” United States v. Hurt, 676 F.3d 649, 652 (8th Cir. 2012) (quoting
Comm’r v. Jean, 496 U.S. 154, 159 (1990)).
“Substantially justified means ‘justified to a degree that could satisfy a reasonable
person.’”

Bah v. Cangemi, 548 F.3d 680, 683 (8th Cir. 2008) (quoting Pierce v.

Underwood, 487 U.S. 552, 565 (1988)). “A substantially justified position need not be
correct so long as ‘a reasonable person could think it correct, that is, if it has a reasonable
basis in law and fact.’” Id. at 683–84 (quoting Pierce, 487 U.S. at 566 n.2). So where a
case “involves primarily factual questions”—and especially where it “hinges to a
significant extent on determinations of witness credibility”—the Government’s position is
substantially justified. Hurt, 676 F.3d at 653 (cleaned up) (citation omitted).
The Court finds that the Government’s position, though incorrect, was substantially
justified. Mr. Valadez Moran’s case turned on a fact question—whether his mother was
3

born in the United States. And two statements gave the Government a reasonable basis for
its position that she was not—the 2023 statement of Mr. Valadez Moran’s grandmother,
and the 2015 statement of Mr. Valadez Moran himself. The Court disagreed with the
Government’s position only after finding that the grandmother’s statement was not credible
and that Mr. Valadez Moran’s testimony explaining his misstatement was credible. Given
“the importance of the [C]ourt’s credibility finding[s] on the end result,” the Government’s
position was substantially justified. See Garcia v. Barr, 971 F.3d 794, 797 (8th Cir. 2020)
(per curiam). Thus, Mr. Valadez Moran is not entitled to fees and costs under § 2412(d). 1
III.

Order
Based on the submissions and the entire file and proceedings herein, IT IS

HEREBY ORDERED that:
1.

Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Under the Equal Access to
Justice Act [Doc. 88] is DENIED.

Dated: November 22, 2024

/s/ Susan Richard Nelson
SUSAN RICHARD NELSON
United States District Judge

————————————————————————–

Mr. Valadez Moran also cites § 2412(a) & (b) in his opening brief. (Doc. 89 at 1.) But § 2412(a) only
authorizes “a judgment for costs, as enumerated in [§] 1920,” and § 2412(b) only permits an award of fees under a
few limited common-law exceptions to the American rule that parties bear their own fees and costs, Lindquist v.
Bowen, 839 F.2d 1321, 1323–27 (8th Cir. 1988). Mr. Valadez Moran identifies neither any costs enumerated in
§ 1920, nor any common-law exception that applies here. So the Court finds that his request for fees and costs under
§ 2412(a) & (b) is undeveloped and therefore waived. See, e.g., RJT Invests. X v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 491
F.3d 732, 738 n.9 (8th Cir. 2007).
1

4