Allen v. Saul

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA KAREN ALLEN, Case No.: 19CV1464-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 3] ANDREW H. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.

On August 5, 2019, plaintiff Karen Allen commenced an action against Andrew H.

Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security, seeking review of a final adverse decision of the Commissioner. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff also filed an Application to Proceed with her Complaint in forma pauperis. [Doc. No. 3.] The Application is in the form of an affidavit. [Id.] A court may authorize the commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees if the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a statement of all his or her assets, showing that he or she is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit must “state the facts as to [the] affiant's poverty with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981) (internal quotations omitted).

1 A party need not be completely destitute to proceed in forma pauperis. Adkins v. ||E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339-340 (1948). An affidavit is sufficient 3 it shows that the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide himself [or ||herself] and dependents with the necessities of life.” /d. (internal quotations omitted).

5 Here, plaintiff's affidavit states that she is unemployed and has limited income and ||assets. Her only income is public-assistance which, including food stamps, totals $569 || per month. [Doc. No. 3, pp. 2 and 9.] Her only asset is $40 in cash. [/d., pp. 2-3 and 9- || 10.] Her monthly expenses total $255, which includes food ($192) and a cellular phone || bill ($63). [/d., pp. 4-5, 7 and 9-10.] Therefore, the Court finds that plaintiff has || submitted an affidavit which sufficiently shows that she lacks the financial resources to || pay her filing fee. Accordingly, 12 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his ||Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 3.]

14 ||Dated: August 14, 2019 Jl. Ke 16 Hori. Karen 8S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge