Trautman v. O' Malley
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a pro se plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis in a Social Security action. The court granted the application, finding that the plaintiff's declaration demonstrated that paying the filing fee would impose a hardship.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis granted“Plaintiff's Application is therefore GRANTED.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and Ninth Circuit precedent (McQuade) requiring a showing of inability to pay fees without sacrificing necessities of life. The order recites that the plaintiff's declaration shows monthly expenses consume all limited income, which satisfies the statutory requirement that the applicant cannot pay the fee and still provide for necessities. The decision follows logically from the cited law and the recited facts. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities for granting in forma pauperis status. It correctly identifies the standard (necessities of life) and applies it to the specific facts recited (expenses consume all income). There are no gaps in the reasoning for this specific, limited ruling.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 STEVEN R.T., Case No.: 24-cv-74-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 3] 14 MARTIN O’MALLEY Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff filed an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. Doc. No. 3. A court may 18 authorize the commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees if the plaintiff submits 19 an affidavit, including a statement of plaintiff’s assets, showing plaintiff is unable to pay 20 the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must “state the facts as to [the] 21 affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” United States v. 22 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 showing his monthly living 2 ||expenses consume all of his limited income. The Court finds paying the filing fee would 3 |}impose a hardship on plaintiff. Plaintiff's Application is therefore GRANTED. 4 ||Dated: January 11, 2024 Uj Ui 5 Ms Le a 6 Hon. Karen S. Crawford , United States Magistrate Judge 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28