Cervantes v. O'Malley
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis in a civil action against the Commissioner of Social Security. The court granted the application, finding that the plaintiff's declaration demonstrated an inability to pay the filing fee without hardship.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Application to Proceed in forma pauperis“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiffs Application is GRANTED.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the statutory standard of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and the Ninth Circuit precedent requiring a showing of inability to pay fees while maintaining necessities of life. The order recites that the plaintiff's declaration showed expenses exceeding income, which satisfies the legal threshold for IFP status. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for granting IFP status. It accurately summarizes the legal standard and applies it to the specific facts recited in the declaration (expenses exceeding income). There are no gaps in the reasoning for this specific, limited ruling.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JACQUELINE C. on behalf of JL, a Case No.: 24-cv-1032-KSC minor, 12 ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION Plaintiff, 13 TO PROCEED IN FORMA v. PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 6] 14 MARTIN O’MALLEY, Commissioner of 15 Social Security, 16 Defendant. 17 18 Plaintiff filed an Application to Proceed in forma pauperis. Doc. No. 6. A court may 19 authorize the commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees if the plaintiff submits 20 an affidavit, including a statement of all his or her assets, showing that he or she is unable 21 to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must “state the facts as to [the] 22 affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” United States v. 23 McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir.1981) (internal quotations omitted). A party need 24 not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de 25 Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–340 (1948). An affidavit is sufficient if it shows that 26 the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide himself [or herself] and 27 dependents with the necessities of life.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). 28 1 Here, plaintiff's application is supported by a declaration that plaintiff’s monthly 2 || expenses significantly exceed any income available to pay those expenses. The Court finds 3 || paying the filing fee would impose a hardship on plaintiff. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED 4 || THAT plaintiffs Application is GRANTED. 5 ||Dated: June 25, 2024 1 Wi 6 Ms Lie a 7 Hon. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28