On May 1, 2002, a group of aliens who were residing legally within the U.S. but were ineligible to work, brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the Social Security Administration's (SSA) determination that it would no longer issue Social Security numbers to aliens for purposes of obtaining state driver's licenses. Plaintiffs alleged that the SSA's actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553, in that the SSA dismissed its long-standing regulatory interpretations without complying with the notice and comment provisions of the Act. Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as class certification.

The SSA moved to dismiss the suit for lack of standing. Plaintiffs moved for summary judgment, preliminary injunctive relief, and class certification. The District Court (Judge Ellen S. Huvelle) granted Plaintiffs' motions in part and denied them in part, holding that: (1) the aliens had standing to bring the action; (2) the SSA's determination was subject to the APA's notice and comment requirements; and (3) Plaintiffs' requests for a preliminary injunction and class certification were denied. Iyengar v. Barnhart.233 F. Supp. 2d. 12. (D.C. 2002).

Shortly thereafter, the parties settled the case. As part of the settlement, the SSA agreed to pay Plaintiffs $50,000 in attorneys' fees.

On July 18, 2003, Eduardo Ovadio, who was not a member of the original lawsuit, filed a petition seeking to have the SSA held in contempt for refusing to issue him a SSN for a valid nonwork purpose. The District Court found that the petitioner lacked standing and denied his motion. Iyengar V. Barnhart, 281 F.Supp.2d 38 (D.D.C. 2003).

We have no further information on this case.

Stephen Imm - 08/23/2007


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