Mendez v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Cheryl K. M. 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 |
|---|---|
Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis granted“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with her Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 3.]” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and *Adkins v. DuPont de Nemours & Co.*. The record recited in the order (unemployment, $599/month income, no money left after expenses) supports the conclusion that the plaintiff cannot pay the fee without sacrificing necessities of life. The citation to *United States v. McQuade* regarding the particularity of the affidavit is also appropriate. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law standards for granting IFP status. It recites the specific financial facts from the plaintiff's application that support the decision. There are no gaps in the reasoning for this specific procedural motion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHERYL K. M., Case No.: 21cv1523-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 3.] 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On August 27, 2021, plaintiff Cheryl K. M. commenced an action against Kilolo 18 Kijakazi, the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse 19 decision of the Commissioner. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed 20 with the Complaint in forma pauperis. [Doc. No. 3.] 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 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 she is unemployed and has retirement 6 ||income of $599 per month but has no money left after paying expenses. She also owns 7 || two older model vehicles. [Doc. No. 3, pp. 1-3.] Therefore, the Court finds that plaintiff 8 sufficiently shown she lacks the financial resources to pay the filing fee. 9 || Accordingly, 10 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with her 11 Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 3.] 12 Dated: September 8, 2021 Ui. zy 13 M2 —= 14 Hon. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28