Allen v. Saul
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Karen Allen filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis in a Social Security appeal. The court granted the application, finding that her affidavit demonstrated an inability to pay the filing fee.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis granted“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his Complaint in forma pauperis 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 recited in the order (income of $569/month, assets of $40, expenses of $255/month) clearly supports the finding that the plaintiff cannot pay the fee while maintaining necessities of life. The decision follows logically from the cited law and the facts presented. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for granting in forma pauperis status. The factual findings are specific and support the legal conclusion. There are no gaps in the reasoning for this specific motion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 KAREN ALLEN, Case No.: 19CV1464-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 3] 14 ANDREW H. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On August 5, 2019, plaintiff Karen Allen commenced an action against Andrew H. 18 Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse decision of 19 the Commissioner. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed with her 20 Complaint in forma pauperis. [Doc. No. 3.] The Application is in the form of an affidavit. 21 [Id.] 22 A court may authorize the commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees if 23 the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a statement of all his or her assets, showing 24 that he or she is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must 25 “state the facts as to [the] affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and 26 certainty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir.1981) (internal 27 quotations omitted). 28 1 A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v. 2 ||E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339-340 (1948). An affidavit is sufficient 3 it shows that the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide himself [or 4 ||herself] and dependents with the necessities of life.” /d. (internal quotations omitted). 5 Here, plaintiff's affidavit states that she is unemployed and has limited income and 6 ||assets. Her only income is public-assistance which, including food stamps, totals $569 7 || per month. [Doc. No. 3, pp. 2 and 9.] Her only asset is $40 in cash. [/d., pp. 2-3 and 9- 8 || 10.] Her monthly expenses total $255, which includes food ($192) and a cellular phone 9 || bill ($63). [/d., pp. 4-5, 7 and 9-10.] Therefore, the Court finds that plaintiff has 10 || submitted an affidavit which sufficiently shows that she lacks the financial resources to 11 || pay her filing fee. Accordingly, 12 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his 13 ||Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 3.] 14 ||Dated: August 14, 2019 Jl. Ke 16 Hori. Karen 8S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28