Giffin v. Kijakazi ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 STEVEN G., Case No.: 21cv1691-KSC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS [DOC. NO. 4.] 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On September 29, 2021, plaintiff Steven G. 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. 4.] 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 he is unemployed, and his only income is 6 $194 in food stamps. He does not have any assets. [Doc. No. 4, pp. 1-5.] Therefore, the 7 || Court finds that plaintiff has sufficiently shown he lacks the financial resources to pay the 8 || filing fee. Accordingly, 9 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT plaintiff's Application to Proceed with his 10 Complaint in forma pauperis is GRANTED. [Doc. No. 4.] 11 ||Dated: October 25, 2021 Sb Ul / 12 WM a B Hon. Karen S. Crawford United States Magistrate Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28