Moffett v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed the plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis, which was supported by a declaration showing that her monthly expenses slightly exceed her monthly income. The court granted the application, finding that paying the filing fee would impose a hardship on the plaintiff.
| 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.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and Ninth Circuit precedent. The plaintiff's declaration showed that her expenses exceed her income, which satisfies the requirement that the applicant cannot pay the fee and still provide for the necessities of life. The court's finding of hardship is supported by the recited facts. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the statutory standard and the relevant case law. It applies the 'necessities of life' test from Adkins and the particularity requirement from McQuade. The factual finding that expenses exceed income directly supports the conclusion that paying the fee would impose a hardship. The reasoning is complete and accurate for this type of motion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 GWEN M., Case No.: 23-cv-1562-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 Plaintiff filed an Application to Proceed with her Complaint in forma pauperis. Doc. 18 No. 2. A court may authorize the commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees if 19 the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a statement of all his or her assets, showing that 20 he or she is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must “state 21 the facts as to [the] affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” 22 United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir.1981) (internal quotations omitted). 23 A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v. 24 E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–340 (1948). An affidavit is sufficient 25 if it shows that the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide himself [or 26 herself] and dependents with the necessities of life.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). 27 28 1 Here, plaintiff's application is supported by a declaration that her monthly expenses 2 || slightly exceed her monthly income. The Court finds paying the filing fee would impose a 3 || hardship on plaintiff. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed 4 || with his Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. 5 Dated: August 25, 2023 li. 6 My Lae Se 7 Hon. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28