Harris v. Kijakazi
Filing
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ORDER granting #3 Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis. US Marshal shall effect service of complaint. (Summons and IFP package prepared). Signed by Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard on 9/09/2021. (jpp)
Case 3:21-cv-01574-AHG Document 5 Filed 09/09/21 PageID.16 Page 1 of 5
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MARLOU H.,
Case No.: 3:21-cv-1574-AHG
Plaintiff,
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v.
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ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA
PAUPERIS
KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Commissioner of
Social Security,
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[ECF No. 3]
Defendant.
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On September 7, 2021, Plaintiff Marlou H. (“Plaintiff”) brought this action against
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the Commissioner of Social Security, Kilolo Kijakazi, seeking judicial review of the
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Commissioner’s final administrative decision denying her application for Social Security
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Supplemental Security Income for lack of disability. ECF No. 1. Along with her Complaint,
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Plaintiff also filed a Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) under 28
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U.S.C. § 1915. ECF No. 3.
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I.
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A motion to proceed IFP presents two issues for the Court’s consideration. First, the
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Court must determine whether an applicant properly shows an inability to pay the $400
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civil filing fee required by this Court. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(a). To that end, an
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applicant must also provide the Court with a signed affidavit “that includes a statement of
LEGAL STANDARD
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all assets[,] which shows inability to pay initial fees or give security.” CivLR 3.2(a).
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Second, § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) requires the Court to evaluate whether an applicant’s complaint
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sufficiently states a claim upon which relief may be granted. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d
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1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (“1915(e) not only permits but requires a district court to
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dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint that fails to state a claim.”).
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II.
DISCUSSION
A.
Motion to Proceed IFP
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An applicant need not be completely destitute to proceed IFP, but she must
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adequately prove her indigence. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331,
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339–40 (1948). An adequate affidavit should “allege[] that the affiant cannot pay the court
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costs and still afford the necessities of life.” Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234
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(9th Cir. 2015) (citing Adkins, 335 U.S. at 339). No exact formula is “set forth by statute,
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regulation, or case law to determine when someone is poor enough to earn IFP status.”
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Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1235. Consequently, courts must evaluate IFP requests on a case-
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by-case basis. See id. at 1235–36 (declining to implement a general benchmark of “twenty
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percent of monthly household income”); see also Cal. Men’s Colony v. Rowland, 939 F.2d
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854, 858 (9th Cir. 1991) (requiring that district courts evaluate indigency based upon
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available facts and by exercise of their “sound discretion”), rev’d on other grounds, 506
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U.S. 194 (1993); Venable v. Meyers, 500 F.2d 1215, 1216 (9th Cir. 1974).
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An adequate affidavit should state facts supporting the applicant’s claim of
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indigence “with some particularity, definiteness and certainty.” United States v. McQuade,
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647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981) (citing Jefferson v. United States, 277 F.2d 723, 725 (9th
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Cir. 1960)). The Court should not grant IFP to an applicant who is “financially able, in
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whole or in material part, to pull his own oar.” Temple v. Ellerthorpe, 586 F. Supp. 848,
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850 (D.R.I. 1984); see also Alvarez v. Berryhill, No. 18cv2133-W-BGS, 2018 WL
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6265021, at *1 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 1, 2018) (noting that courts often reject IFP applications
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when applicants “can pay the filing fee with acceptable sacrifice to other expenses”).
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Additionally, courts have discretion to make a factual inquiry and to deny a motion to
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proceed IFP when the moving party is “unable, or unwilling, to verify their poverty.”
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McQuade, 647 F.2d at 940.
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Here, Plaintiff states in her affidavit that she has had no income for the last 12
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months, other than $211 in food stamps, and she does not anticipate having any income in
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the next month. ECF No. 3 at 1–2. She has had no employment history for the past two
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years, has no money in her checking account, and depends entirely on her daughters to pay
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all expenses. Id. at 2, 5. Considering the information in the affidavit, the Court finds that
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Plaintiff has sufficiently shown an inability to pay the $400 filing fee under § 1915(a).
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B. Screening under 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)
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As discussed above, every complaint filed pursuant to the IFP provisions of 28
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U.S.C. § 1915 is subject to a mandatory screening by the Court under Section
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1915(e)(2)(B). Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1127. Under that subprovision, the Court must dismiss
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complaints that are frivolous or malicious, fail to state a claim on which relief may be
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granted, or seek monetary relief from defendants who are immune from such relief. See 28
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U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Social Security appeals are not exempt from this screening
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requirement. See Hoagland v. Astrue, No. 1:12-cv-00973-SMS, 2012 WL 2521753, at *1
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(E.D. Cal. June 28, 2012) (“Screening is required even if the plaintiff pursues an appeal of
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right, such as an appeal of the Commissioner's denial of social security disability benefits
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[under 42 U.S.C. 405(g)].”); see also Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845, 845 (9th Cir. 2001)
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(affirming that “the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) are not limited to prisoners”);
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Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1129.
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Rule 8 sets forth the federal pleading standard used to determine whether a complaint
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states a claim upon which relief may be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8; see also Ashcroft v.
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Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678–79 (2009) (“[A] complaint must contain a “short and plain
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statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”); Bell Atlantic Corp.
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v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (noting that “detailed factual allegations” are not
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required, but a plaintiff must provide “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic
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recitation of the elements of a cause of action” to justify relief). A proper pleading “does
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not require detailed factual allegations, but it demands more than an unadorned, the-
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defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation. A pleading that offers labels and conclusions
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. . . will not do. Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders naked assertions devoid of further
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factual enhancement.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (internal citations and quotations omitted).
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For example, in social security cases, “[t]he plaintiff must provide a statement
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identifying the basis of the plaintiff's disagreement with the ALJ’s determination and must
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make a showing that he is entitled to relief, ‘in sufficient detail such that the Court can
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understand the legal and/or factual issues in dispute so that it can meaningfully screen the
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complaint pursuant to § 1915(e).’” Jaime B. v. Saul, No. 19cv2431-JLB, 2020 WL
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1169671, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 10, 2020) (quoting Graves v. Colvin, No. 15cv106-RFB-
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NJK, 2015 WL 357121, at *2 (D. Nev. Jan. 26, 2015)). “Every plaintiff appealing an
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adverse decision of the Commissioner believes that the Commissioner was wrong. The
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purpose of the complaint is to briefly and plainly allege facts supporting the legal
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conclusion that the Commissioner’s decision was wrong.” Hoagland, 2012 WL 2521753,
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at *2.
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Having reviewed Plaintiff’s Complaint, the Court finds Plaintiff has sufficiently
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stated a claim upon which relief may be granted. Specifically, Plaintiff appeals the
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Commissioner’s denial of her application for supplemental security income on the grounds
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that: (1) “the ALJ did not state clear and convincing reasons for rejecting the symptom and
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limitation testimony that [Plaintiff] suffers from anxiety, panic attacks with shortness of
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breath[] and chest pain[,] coupled with crying spells and insomnia” and (2) “the ALJ[’s]
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finding of the ability to perform work is not supported by substantial evidence because
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evidence submitted to the Appeals Council establishes a conflict that requires resolution[.]”
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ECF No. 1 at 3. The Court finds these allegations sufficiently specific to state a claim for
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reversal or remand of the Commissioner’s decision.
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III.
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Based on the foregoing considerations, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to
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Proceed IFP (ECF No. 3). In accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3) and 28 U.S.C.
CONCLUSION
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§ 1915(d), the Court DIRECTS the Clerk to issue the summons and to send Plaintiff a
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blank United States Marshal Service (“USMS”) Form 285 along with certified copies of
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this Order and her Complaint (ECF No. 1). Once Plaintiff receives this “IFP Package,” the
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Court ORDERS her to complete the Form 285 and forward all documents in the package
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to the USMS. Upon receipt, the USMS will serve a copy of the Complaint and summons
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on Defendant as directed by Plaintiff on the USMS Form 285. The United States will
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advance all costs of service. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d); Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: September 9, 2021
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