Coulombe v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff Paula J.C. 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.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the statutory standard of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and the Ninth Circuit precedent requiring that an applicant show they cannot pay the fee and still provide for the necessities of life. The recited facts (unemployment, low income, food stamps, no surplus) support the conclusion that the plaintiff is indigent. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for granting in forma pauperis status. The reasoning directly connects the plaintiff's financial facts to the legal standard of inability to pay while maintaining necessities of life.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PAULA J.C., Case No.: 21cv1961-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 2.] 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On November 18, 2021, plaintiff Paula J.C. 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. 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 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 income of 6 $1,131.000 from a spousal death benefit and receives food stamps in the amount of $149 7 month. She does not have money left over after paying for food and rent. She does 8 an older model vehicle. [Doc. No. 2, pp. 1-5.] Based on the information presented, 9 Court finds that plaintiff has sufficiently shown she lacks the financial resources to 10 || pay the filing fee. Accordingly, 11 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with her 12 || Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 2.] 13 ||Dated: November 29, 2021 4 Ui 14 Mi» Oe 15 Hon. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28