Trautman v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed plaintiff Steven Ray T.'s 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 |
|---|---|
Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis granted“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 3.]” | agree with court The court correctly applied the statutory standard of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and the Ninth Circuit precedent requiring a showing of inability to pay fees without sacrificing necessities of life. The recited facts (unemployed, no income, modest savings, older vehicles) support the conclusion that the plaintiff meets the threshold for IFP status. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for granting IFP status. The reasoning directly connects the plaintiff's stated financial condition to the legal standard. There are no significant gaps or errors in the application of the law.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 STEVEN RAY T., Case No.: 20cv2257-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 3.] 14 ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 18 On November 19, 2020, plaintiff Steven Ray T. commenced an action against 19 Andrew M. Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse 20 decision of the Commissioner. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed 21 with the Complaint in forma pauperis. [Doc. No. 3.] 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 / / / l A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v. 2 DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339-340 (1948). An affidavit is adequate 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, plaintiff's Application indicates he is unemployed and has no income. He 6 have a modest savings account and owns two older model vehicles. [Doc. No. 3, 7 1-3.] Therefore, the Court finds that plaintiff has sufficiently shown he lacks the 8 || financial resources to pay the filing fee. Accordingly, 9 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his 10 Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 3.] 11 ||Dated: June 21, 2021 4 Ui 12 WM a B Hon. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28