(a) To be eligible for an award of fees and other expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act, the applicant must show that it meets all conditions of eligibility set out in this paragraph and has complied with all the requirements in subpart B of this part. The applicant must also be a party to the adversary adjudication for which it seeks an award.
(b) To be eligible for an award of fees and other expenses for prevailing parties, a party must be one of the following:
(1) An individual who has a net worth of not more than $2 million;
(2) The sole owner of an unincorporated business who has a net worth of not more than $7 million, including both personal and business interest, and not more than 500 employees; however, a party who owns an unincorporated business will be considered to be an “individual” rather than the “sole owner of an unincorporated business” if the issues on which the party prevails are related primarily to personal interests rather than to business interests;
(3) A charitable or other tax-exempt organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), with not more than 500 employees;
(4) A cooperative association as defined in section 15(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act, 12 U.S.C. 1141j(a), with not more than 500 employees;
(5) Any other partnership, corporation, association, unit of local government, or organization that has a net worth of not more than $7 million and not more than 500 employees; or
(6) For the purposes of an application filed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 504(a)(4), a small entity as defined in 5 U.S.C. 601.
(c) For purposes of eligibility under this section:
(1) The employees of a party must include all persons who regularly perform services for remuneration for the party, under the party's direction and control. Part-time employees must be included on a proportional basis.
(2) The net worth and number of employees of the party and its affiliates must be aggregated to determine eligibility.
(3) The net worth and number of employees of a party will be determined as of the date the underlying adversary adjudication was initiated.
(4) A party that participates in an adversary adjudication primarily on behalf of one or more entities that would be ineligible for an award is not itself eligible for an award.