Wins v. Saul
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Daniel E. Butcher (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Renita W. filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis in a Social Security appeal. The court granted the application, finding that the plaintiff demonstrated an inability to pay the filing fee while maintaining the necessities of life.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis“Based on the foregoing, the Court finds Plaintiff has sufficiently shown she lacks financial resources to pay her filing fee and GRANTS her Application to Proceed with his Complaint in forma pauperis.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and *Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.*, which requires showing an inability to pay fees while still providing for the necessities of life. The record recited in the order (low income, limited assets, high rent relative to income) supports the finding that the plaintiff meets this threshold. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law standards for granting in forma pauperis status. It recites specific financial details from the plaintiff's affidavit to support the conclusion. There are no significant gaps in the reasoning for this specific, limited ruling.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RENITA W., Case No.: 20CV1280-DEB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DKT. NO. 2] 14 ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On July 8, 2020, Plaintiff Renita W. commenced an action against Andrew M. 18 Saul, the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse 19 decision of the Commissioner. Dkt. No. 1. Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed 20 with her Complaint in forma pauperis. Dkt. No. 2. 21 A court may authorize the commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees if 22 the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a statement of all his or her assets, showing 23 that he or she is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must 24 “state the facts as to [the] affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and 25 certainty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir.1981) (internal 26 quotations omitted). 27 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 Plaintiff is unemployed and has limited income and assets. She receives General 6 || Relief benefits from San Diego County of approximately $425.00 per month, however, 7 || this is a loan program, and will need to be repaid in the future. She also receives $196.00 8 month in food stamps and free health insurance through Medi-Cal. Dkt. No. 2, p. 2. 9 || Her assets are approximately $150.00 in cash and a checking account with an 10 || approximate balance of $20.00. Jd. Her monthly rent is $1,515.00, of which Plaintiff 11 || pays $166.00 and St. Vincent de Paul Society pays the remainder. [/d.] Her other 12 ||monthly expenses, which include household utilities, cable, cell phone and toiletries, total 13 ||$275.00. Id. 14 Based on the foregoing, the Court finds Plaintiff has sufficiently shown she lacks 15 financial resources to pay her filing fee and GRANTS her Application to Proceed 16 || with his Complaint in forma pauperis. 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 || Dated: July 10, 2020 — ‘ 9 Dando oa 20 Honorable Daniel E. Butcher United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28