Christopher v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Linda Lopez (author)
Analysis
The court considered Plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), which was based on an outdated application form dated two years prior to the filing of the complaint. The court denied the motion without prejudice, ordering the Plaintiff to either pay the filing fee or submit a renewed motion using the correct form by February 28, 2025, or face dismissal.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis denied without prejudice“Accordingly, Plaintiffs application to proceed IFP [ECF No. 2] is DENIED without prejudice.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the requirement that an IFP affidavit must show inability to pay with 'particularity, definiteness and certainty.' Because the affidavit was dated December 27, 2022, and the case was filed in December 2024, the financial information was stale and insufficient to demonstrate current poverty. Denying the motion without prejudice and providing a deadline to cure the defect is a standard and appropriate procedural remedy. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the legal standard for IFP applications and applies it to the specific facts that the affidavit was two years old. It provides a clear path for the plaintiff to cure the deficiency. The reasoning is concise and legally sound.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PAUL JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER, Case No.: 24cv2473-LL-VET 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 13 v. PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 14 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 15 Defendant. 16 17 18 On December 27, 2024 Plaintiff Paul Joseph Christopher filed this civil action 19 against Commissioner of Social Security. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff did not prepay the civil 20 filing fees required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) at the time of filing; instead, he filed a Motion 21 to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). ECF No. 2. 22 Generally, all parties instituting a civil action in this court must pay a filing fee. See 28 23 U.S.C. § 1914(a); CivLR 4.5(a). However, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), the court may 24 authorize the commencement, prosecution or defense of any suit without payment of fees 25 if the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a statement of all his or her assets, showing 26 that he or she is unable to pay filing fees or costs. “An affidavit in support of an IFP 27 application is sufficient where it alleges that the affiant cannot pay the court costs and still 28 afford the necessities of life.” Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234 (9th Cir. 2015). 1 || “[A] plaintiff seeking IFP status must allege poverty with some particularity, definiteness 2 certainty.” /d. (internal quotation marks omitted). The granting or denial of leave to 3 || proceed IFP in civil cases is within the sound discretion of the district court. Venerable v. 4 || Meyers, 500 F.2d 1215, 1216 (9th Cir. 1974) (citations omitted). 5 Here, Plaintiff's Motion is based on an outdated IFP application form captioned 6 ||“CIV-67.” ECF No. 2. In his application, Plaintiff represents that he is currently 7 unemployed and has no income. /d. Plaintiff's application is dated December 27, 2022, 8 || which predates the Complaint filed in this case by two years. Jd. Based on the lack of 9 “particularity, definiteness and certainty” in the information provided, the Court cannot 10 ||}determine whether Plaintiff lacks the funds to pay the filing fee and “still afford the 11 necessities of life.” Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1234. 12 To the extent Plaintiff seeks to resubmit his request, he is directed to complete form 13 |} AO 239 (Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs — Long 14 || Form) which can be found on the District Court’s website. On or before February 28, 15 2025, Plaintiff must either (1) pay the requisite filing fee, or (2) file a renewed motion for 16 || IFP containing the necessary information using the correct form. If Plaintiff fails to timely 17 ||submit payment or a renewed motion for IFP, this case will be dismissed. Accordingly, 18 || Plaintiffs application to proceed IFP [ECF No. 2] is DENIED without prejudice.! 19 IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 Dated: February 12, 2025 NO 21 DE | 22 Honorable Linda Lopez 33 United States District Judge 24 25 8 8©=©)—”
27 ||! Upon granting a request to proceed IFP, the Court must additionally analyze the 28 sufficiency of the complaint under 28 U.S.C § 1915.