Politte v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff David Allen Politte filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis in his action against the Commissioner of Social Security. The Court granted the application, finding that the plaintiff's affidavit sufficiently demonstrated his 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. [Doc. No. 3.]” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and *United States v. McQuade*, requiring an affidavit showing inability to pay. The plaintiff's affidavit detailed low income (food stamps) and limited assets (one car). While the car is valued at $16,000, the court found the affidavit sufficient to show lack of financial resources to pay the fee. This is a discretionary determination based on the affidavit's contents, and the court's finding is supported by the recited facts. |
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 reasoning directly addresses the sufficiency of the affidavit based on the specific facts provided (income, assets, living situation). There are no significant gaps or legal errors in the application of the law to the facts recited.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DAVID ALLEN POLITTE, Case No.: 19CV1506-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 12, 2019, plaintiff David Allen Politte commenced an action against 18 Andrew H. Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse 19 decision of the Commissioner. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed 20 with his Complaint in forma pauperis. [Doc. No. 3.] The Application is in the form of an 21 affidavit. [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 he is unemployed and has limited income and 6 ||assets. His only income is public-assistance food stamps, totaling $198 per month. [Doc. 7 || No. 3, p. 2.] He lives with his parents and contributes his food stamps to the household. 8 || p. 5.] His parents keep track of how much he owes them. [/d.] His only asset is his 9 || car, a 2010 Jeep Commander, which is unencumbered and valued at $16,000. [/d., pp. 2- 10 ||3.] Therefore, the Court finds that plaintiff has submitted an affidavit which sufficiently 11 shows that he lacks the financial resources to 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 Mh Lon 16 Hori. Karen 8S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28