Fisher v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Mary J. F. filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis in a civil action seeking reinstatement of her Extra Help benefit. The court granted the application, finding that the plaintiff's affidavit sufficiently demonstrated her inability to pay the filing fee.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis granted“Accordingly, plaintiff's Application to Proceed with her Complaint 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 affidavit provided specific details regarding income ($1,453/month), assets ($100), and expenses ($1,300/month), demonstrating that the plaintiff cannot pay the fee while maintaining the necessities of life. The decision follows logically from the facts recited in the order. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for granting in forma pauperis status. It accurately recites the financial facts from the affidavit and applies the 'necessities of life' standard. There are no significant gaps or errors in the reasoning.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARY J. F., Case No.: 20CV0162-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 2] 14 ANDREW H. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On January 24, 2020, plaintiff Mary J. F. commenced an action against Andrew H. 18 Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security, seeking reinstatement of her Extra Help 19 benefit by the Commissioner. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed 20 with her Complaint in forma pauperis. [Doc. No. 2.] 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 he 24 or she is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must “state 25 the facts as to [the] affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” 26 United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir.1981) (internal quotations 27 omitted). A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins 28 1 ||v. E.L. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339-340 (1948). An affidavit is 2 || sufficient if it shows that the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide 3 || himself [or herself] and dependents with the necessities of life.” Jd. (internal quotations 4 || omitted). 5 Here, plaintiff's affidavit states that she is unemployed and has limited income and 6 ||assets. Her only income is from retirement related benefits and totals $1,453 per month. 7 ||[Doc. No. 2, p. 2.] Her only asset is $100 in a checking account. [/d., pp. 2-3.] Her 8 ||monthly expenses total $1,300, which includes rent ($890), utilities ($50), food ($75), 9 clothing ($25), laundry ($20), medical and dental expenses ($90), transportation ($25) 10 || and a credit card payment ($70). [/d., pp. 4-5.] Therefore, the Court finds that plaintiff 11 submitted an affidavit which sufficiently shows that she lacks the financial resources 12 || to pay her filing fee. Accordingly, plaintiff's Application to Proceed with her Complaint 13 forma pauperis is GRANTED. 14 IT IS SO ORDERED. 15 ||Dated: January 31, 2020 Jl. Ke 7 Hori. Karen 8S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28