Wood v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
The plaintiff filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis in a Social Security case. The court granted the application, finding the plaintiff sufficiently demonstrated an inability to pay the filing fee while maintaining the necessities of life.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis“Accordingly, the IFP 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 from United States v. McQuade. The record indicates the plaintiff has approximately $2,100 in monthly funds, which the court found insufficient to pay the fee while retaining necessities of life, consistent with the Adkins standard cited. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law standards for in forma pauperis applications. It applies the 'necessities of life' test from Adkins and the particularity requirement from McQuade to the specific financial facts provided in the affidavit.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DOUG W., Case No.: 24-cv-2382-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 2] 14 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP Application”) is before 18 the Court. A court may authorize the commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees 19 if the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a statement of all his or her assets, showing 20 that he or she is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must 21 “state the facts as to [the] affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and 22 certainty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981) (internal 23 quotations omitted). A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. 24 Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–340 (1948). An affidavit is 25 sufficient if it shows that the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide 26 himself [or herself] and dependents with the necessities of life.” Id. (internal quotations 27 omitted). 28 1 Here, plaintiff's IFP Application states that has about $2100 per month in funds to 2 || cover his living expenses, which in turn appear to meet or exceed his discretionary income. 3 || Doc. No. 4. The Court finds plaintiff has sufficiently shown he lacks the financial resources 4 pay the filing fee. Accordingly, the IFP Application is GRANTED. 5 ||Dated: December 18, 2024 4d li. 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