Villalobos v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Daniel E. Butcher (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Rosa Maria V. 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 Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis“Based on the foregoing, the Court finds Plaintiff has sufficiently shown she lacks the financial resources to pay her filing fee and GRANTS her Application Proceed with her Complaint in forma pauperis.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and Ninth Circuit precedent. The plaintiff's affidavit stated specific facts regarding her unemployment, limited income (food stamps), and assets (a 1997 Honda Civic). Under Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., a party need not be completely destitute, only unable to pay fees while retaining necessities of life. The recited facts support the conclusion that the plaintiff meets this threshold. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for the standard of review for in forma pauperis applications. The factual findings are specific enough to support the legal conclusion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ROSA MARIA V., Case No.: 21-CV-0012-DEB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 14 ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, 15 [DKT. NO. 2] Defendant. 16 17 18 On January 5, 2021, Plaintiff Rosa Maria V. commenced an action against Andrew 19 M. Saul, the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse 20 decision of the Commissioner. Dkt. No. 1. Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed 21 with her Complaint in forma pauperis. Dkt. No. 2. 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 that 24 he 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 omitted). 27 A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v. E.I. 28 DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–340 (1948). An affidavit is sufficient if it 1 || shows that the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide himself [or herself] 2 ||and dependents with the necessities of life.” Jd. (internal quotations omitted). 3 Plaintiff is unemployed and has limited income and assets. She receives $194.00 per 4 ||month in food stamps. Dkt. No. 2, at 2. Her only asset is a 1997 Honda Civic LX that was 5 || gifted to her. /d. at 3. Based on the foregoing, the Court finds Plaintiff has sufficiently 6 shown she lacks the financial resources to pay her filing fee and GRANTS her Application 7 Proceed with her Complaint in forma pauperis. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 Dated: January 5, 2021 — ‘ 10 | a wahoo ll Daniel E. Butcher United States Magistrate Judge 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28