Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 DENARD B.,1 Case No.: 26-cv-2380-MMP 11 Plaintiff, ORDER: 12 v. 1) GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S 13 FRANK BISIGNANO, Commissioner of MOTION FOR LEAVE TO Social Security, 14 PROCEED IN FORMA Defendant. PAUPERIS; AND 15 16 2) SCREENING COMPLAINT UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) 17 AND § 1915(a) 18 [ECF No. 4] 19 20 On April 14, 2026, Denard B. (“Plaintiff”) filed this Social Security appeal pursuant 21 to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) of the Social Security Act, seeking judicial review of the decision of 22 the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (“Defendant”) denying Plaintiff’s 23 application for disability insurance and supplemental security income benefits. ECF No. 1, 24 25 26 27 1 In accordance with Civil Local Rule 7.1(e)(6)(b), the Court refers to all non-government 28 1 ¶ 1. Plaintiff also filed a Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”). ECF No. 2 4.2 3 I. MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 4 All parties instituting any civil action, suit, or proceeding in a district court of the 5 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 6 $405.3 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). “An action may proceed despite failure to pay the filing 7 fees only if the party is granted IFP status” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Rodriguez v. 8 Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). 9 The determination of indigency falls within the district court’s discretion. Cal. Men’s 10 Colony v. Rowland, 939 F.2d 854, 858 (9th Cir. 1991), rev’d on other grounds, 506 U.S. 11 194 (1993) (“Section 1915 typically requires the reviewing court to exercise its sound 12 discretion in determining whether the affiant has satisfied the statute’s requirement of 13 indigency.”). A party need not be completely destitute to proceed IFP. Adkins v. E.I. 14 DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–40 (1948). To satisfy the requirements of 15 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), “an affidavit [of poverty] is sufficient which states that one cannot 16 because of his poverty pay or give security for costs . . . and still be able to provide himself 17 and dependents with the necessities of life.” Id. at 339 (citation modified). At the same 18 time, “the same even-handed care must be employed to assure that federal funds are not 19 squandered to underwrite, at public expense, either frivolous claims or the remonstrances 20 of a suitor who is financially able, in whole or in material part, to pull his own oar.” Temple 21 v. Ellerthorpe, 586 F. Supp. 848, 850 (D.R.I. 1984) (citing Brewster v. N. Am. Van Lines, 22 23 2 On April 14, 2026, Plaintiff filed a motion to proceed IFP, which he subsequently 24 withdrew. ECF Nos. 2, 6. Plaintiff filed an amended motion to proceed IFP. ECF No. 4. 25 The Court considers the amended motion.

26 3 In addition to the $350.00 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional 27 administrative fee of $55.00. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(b) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2023)). The additional $55.00 28 1 Inc., 461 F.2d 649, 651 (7th Cir. 1972)). The facts as to the affiant’s poverty must be stated 2 “with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 3 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981) (citation omitted). 4 Plaintiff has satisfied his burden of demonstrating he is entitled to IFP status. 5 Plaintiff’s amended motion to proceed IFP contains a sworn statement consisting of his 6 income and assets. ECF. No. 4. According to his sworn statement, Plaintiff’s average 7 monthly household income is $4,000, made up entirely from Veteran’s Affairs Disability. 8 ECF. Id. ¶ 1. Plaintiff’s average monthly household expenses are $4,190 consisting of 9 $2,000 for rent payment, $180 for utilities, $300 for food, $560 for transportation, $400 for 10 credit card payments, $500 for loan payments, and $250 for motor vehicle insurance. Id. ¶ 11 8. Plaintiff attests neither him nor his spouse have any retirement, public-assistance, or 12 unemployment benefits. Id. ¶ 1. Plaintiff attests there is $0 in his checking account and $0 13 in his savings account. Id. ¶ 4. His only assets are one vehicle worth $8,000. Id. ¶ 5. Plaintiff 14 does not have any dependents who rely on him for support, and no one owes him any 15 money. Id. ¶¶ 6–7. Plaintiff does not anticipate major changes to his monthly income during 16 the next twelve months. Id. ¶ 9. Plaintiff’s sworn statement reflects his household monthly 17 expenditures are equivalent to, and even slightly exceed, his monthly income. 18 The Court finds Plaintiff has sufficiently shown an inability to pay the initial filing 19 fee without impairing his ability to provide himself with life’s necessities. Thus, the Court 20 GRANTS Plaintiff’s amended motion for leave to proceed IFP. 21 II. SUA SPONTE SCREENING UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) AND § 1915(a) 22 Complaints filed by any person proceeding IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) are 23 subject to a mandatory sua sponte screening by the Court. Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 24 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) overruled in part on other grounds as recognized by Moore v. Dunlap, 25 No. 24-2704, 2026 WL 184223, at *1 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2026); Norris v. Kijakazi, No. 23- 26 cv-432-BLM, 2023 WL 2518870, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 13, 2023) (citations omitted). A 27 complaint should be dismissed sua sponte if it is (1) “frivolous or malicious;” (2) “fails to 28 state a claim on which relief may be granted;” or (3) “seeks monetary relief against a 1 defendant who is immune from such relief.” See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); Lopez, 203 F.3d 2 at 1126. Complaints in social security cases are not exempt from this screening 3 requirement. See Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845, 845 (9th Cir. 2001) (“[T]he provisions 4 of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) are not limited to prisoners.”); Giselle N. v. Kijakazi, 694 F. 5 Supp. 3d 1193, 1195 (N.D. Cal. 2023). 6 Effective December 1, 2022, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to 7 include the Supplemental Rules for Social Security Actions Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) 8 (“Supplemental Rules”). The Supplemental Rules govern social security actions and 9 “establish a simplified procedure that recognizes the essentially appellate character of 10 actions that seek only review of an individual’s claims on a single administrative record[.]” 11 Fed. R. Civ. P. Supp. Soc. Sec. R., 2022 Advisory Committee Note. 12 Supplement Rule 2(b)(1) provides the complaint must: 13 (A) state that the action is brought under § 405(g); 14 (B) identify the final decision to be reviewed, including any identifying 15 designation provided by the Commissioner with the final decision; 16 (C) state the name and the county of residence of the person for whom benefits 17 are claimed; 18 (D) name the person on whose wage record benefits are claimed; and 19 (E) state the type of benefits claimed. 20 Fed. R. Civ. P. Supp. Soc. Sec. R. 2(b)(1). “The elements of the claim for review are 21 adequately pleaded under Rule 2(b)(1)(B), (C), (D), and (E).” Id., 2022 Advisory 22 Committee Note. 23 After reviewing Plaintiff’s Complaint pursuant to its sua sponte screening, the Court 24 finds Plaintiff has adequately pleaded the four elements. The Complaint reflects Plaintiff’s 25 claim is brought under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); identifies the decision as a denial from the ALJ 26 on March 19, 2026 that the Appeals Council denied further review; identifies Plaintiff by 27 name and the last four digits of the social security number used in this case; states Plaintiff 28 lives in Spring Valley, California, which is in San Diego County; and identifies the type of 1 || benefits claimed as Social Security disability insurance and supplemental security income 2 || benefits. ECF No. 1 9§ 1-4, 6. Plaintiff adequately pleads the elements required by 3 || Supplemental Rule 2(b)(1). Accordingly, the Court finds Plaintiff's Complaint sufficient 4 ||to survive a § 1915(a) screening. 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 ||Dated: April 28, 2026 Wyble. ty. eat 7 HON. MICHELLE M. PETTIT United States Magistrate Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28