Flores, Jr. v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Tomas F., Jr. filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis in a Social Security appeal, asserting unemployment and limited assets. 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“Accordingly, plaintiffs Application to Proceed with his Complaint in forma pauperis |Doc. No. 2.] 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 (monthly income of $449, assets of $150, and expenses of $420) demonstrates that the plaintiff cannot pay the filing fee without compromising his ability to provide for the necessities of life, satisfying the requirement set forth in Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and relies on the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for the specific motion before the court. It accurately recites the financial facts from the application and applies the 'necessities of life' standard to grant the relief.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 TOMAS F., JR., Case No.: 3:20-cv-2430-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 2] 14 ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On December 14, 2020, plaintiff Tomas F., Jr. commenced an action against Andrew 18 M. Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse decision 19 of the Commissioner. Doc. No. 1. Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed with his 20 Complaint in forma pauperis. Doc. 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 that 23 he or she is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must “state 24 the facts as to [the] affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” 25 United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir.1981) (internal quotations omitted). 26 A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v. E.I. 27 DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–340 (1948). An affidavit is sufficient if it 28 / / 1 ||shows that the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide himself and 2 || dependents with the necessities of life.” Jd. (internal quotations omitted). 3 Here, plaintiffs application states that he is unemployed and has limited income and 4 ||assets. Plaintiff's sole income is $449.00 in monthly public assistance, and his only asset 5 a bank account which has a balance of $150.00. Doc. No. 2 at 2,5. Plaintiff's monthly 6 || expenses, consisting of rent and food, are $420.00. Jd. at 4-5. Therefore, the Court finds 7 plaintiff has sufficiently shown he lacks the financial resources to pay the filing fee. 8 Accordingly, plaintiffs Application to Proceed with his Complaint in forma 9 || pauperis |Doc. No. 2.] is GRANTED. 10 | IT IS SO ORDERED. ll ii iy Dated: December 15, 2020 02 po B Hon. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28