Campagna v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed plaintiff Angelo Nicolo C.'s application to proceed in forma pauperis in a Social Security appeal. The court granted the application, finding that the plaintiff's affidavit sufficiently demonstrated an inability to pay the filing fee.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis granted“Accordingly, plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his Complaint in forma pauperis is hereby GRANTED. [Doc. No. 2.]” | agree with court The court correctly applied the statutory standard of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and the Ninth Circuit's requirement that the affidavit show poverty with particularity. The cited facts (unemployment, no assets, reliance on friends) satisfy the 'necessities of life' test established in Adkins v. DuPont de Nemours & Co. The decision follows logically from the cited authorities and the recited record. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law for the specific motion. It accurately recites the facts from the affidavit and applies the 'necessities of life' standard to grant relief. There are no gaps in the reasoning for this specific, limited motion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ANGELO NICOLO C., Case No.: 3:20-cv-01402-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR 13 v. LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [Doc. No. 2] 14 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On July 22, 2020, plaintiff Angelo Nicolo C. commenced an action against the 18 Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse decision of the 19 Commissioner. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed with his 20 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 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 DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339-40 (1948). An affidavit is sufficient if 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, plaintiffs affidavit states that he is unemployed, has no other sources of income, 6 ||and no assets. [Doc. No. 2 at 1-2.] Plaintiff's affidavit further states he relies on friends 7 lodging and transportation. [Doc. No. 2 at 4.] Therefore, the Court finds that 8 || plaintiff's affidavit sufficiently shows that he lacks the financial resources to pay his 9 || filing fee. 10 Accordingly, plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his Complaint in forma 11 || pauperis is hereby GRANTED. [Doc. No. 2.] 12 || IT ISSO ORDERED. 13 ||Dated: July 24, 2020 A iy ) 14 YUL LA ——— 15 Hori. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28