1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 FAYEE GU, Case No.: 25-cv-02326-RBM-AHG
13 Plaintiff, ORDER: 14 v. (1) GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S 15 SERGIO JIMENEZ, MOTION TO PROCEED IN FORMA 16 Defendant. PAUPERIS
17 (2) SCREENING COMPLAINT 18 PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2)(B) 19
20 (3) DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND 21
22 [Doc. 2] 23 24 On September 5, 2025, pro se Plaintiff Fayee Gu (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint 25 against Sergio Jimenez. (Doc. 1.) The same day, Plaintiff filed an Application to Proceed 26 in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (“IFP Motion”). (Doc. 2.) For the 27 reasons below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s IFP Motion and DISMISSES their 28 Complaint with leave to amend. 1 I. LEGAL STANDARD 2 The IFP Motion presents two issues. First, the Court must determine whether 3 Plaintiff properly shows an inability to pay the $4051 civil filing fee required by this Court. 4 See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(a). To that end, Plaintiff must provide the Court with a 5 signed affidavit “that includes a statement of all assets which shows inability to pay initial 6 fees or give security.” Civ. L.R. 3.2(a). Second, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) requires 7 the Court to evaluate whether Plaintiff’s Complaint sufficiently states a claim upon which 8 relief may be granted. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (“section 9 1915(e) not only permits but requires a district court to dismiss an [IFP] complaint that 10 fails to state a claim.”). The Court addresses each issue in turn. 11 II. DISCUSSION 12 A. Plaintiff’s IFP Application 13 An applicant need not be completely destitute to proceed IFP, but he must adequately 14 prove his indigence. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–40 15 (1948). An adequate affidavit should “allege[] that the affiant cannot pay the court costs 16 and still afford the necessities of life.” Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234 (9th 17 Cir. 2015) (citing Adkins, 335 U.S. at 339); see also United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 18 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981) (noting that an adequate affidavit should state supporting facts 19 “with some particularity, definiteness and certainty”) (citation omitted). No formula is “set 20 forth by statute, regulation, or case law to determine when someone is poor enough to earn 21 IFP status.” Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1235. Consequently, courts must evaluate IFP requests 22 on a case-by-case basis. See id. at 1235–36 (declining to implement a general benchmark 23 of “twenty percent of monthly household income”). 24 25 1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an administrative fee of $55. 26 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); United States Courts, District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule 27 § 14 (effective Dec. 1, 2023), https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/fees/district-court- miscellaneous-fee-schedule. The additional $55 administrative fee does not apply to 28 1 Here, Plaintiff declares that their household’s average monthly income is $2,000 and 2 their average monthly expenses are $2,150. (Doc. 2 at 1–2, 5.) Plaintiff declares that they 3 have $40 in a checking account and no other assets. (Id. at 2–3.) Additionally, under the 4 section requesting Plaintiff “[p]rovide any other information that will help explain why you 5 cannot pay the costs of these proceedings,” Plaintiff writes “I owed $143,015 court 6 judgment.” (Id. at 5.) Considering that Plaintiff’s expenses exceed their income, and that 7 Plaintiff appears to have a significant financial obligation in the court judgment, the Court 8 finds that Plaintiff “cannot pay the court costs and still afford the necessities of life.” 9 Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1234. Therefore, Plaintiff’s IFP Motion is GRANTED. 10 B. Screening Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) 11 As discussed above, every complaint filed IFP under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 is subject to 12 mandatory screening by the Court under § 1915(e)(2)(B). Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1127. Under 13 this provision, the Court must dismiss complaints that are (1) frivolous or malicious, (2) fail 14 to state a claim on which relief may be granted, or (3) seek monetary relief from defendants 15 who are immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Plaintiff’s Complaint 16 fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted. 17 “The standard for determining whether a plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon 18 which relief can be granted under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is the same as the Federal Rule of 19 Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) standard for failure to state a claim.” Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 20 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012). A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the 21 claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Rule 12(b)(6) 22 requires a complaint to “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim 23 to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (internal 24 quotation marks omitted). Although the Court must construe pro se pleadings liberally and 25 “afford the petitioner the benefit of any doubt,” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th 26 Cir. 2010) (citation omitted), it may not “supply essential elements of claims that were not 27 initially pled.” Ivey v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982). 28 1 The Complaint does not “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state 2 a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. The Complaint is 3 five sentences: 4 1. The current owner of the apartment where Plaintiff resides is Re/Max, as the former owner Raymond Chan claimed in his sworn affidavit, 5
6 2. Hong Yi Zeng conspired with Re/Max agent and fabricated a criminal charge against Plaintiff, 7
8 3. Defendant conspired with Hong Yi Zeng in violating Plaintiff’s due process. 9
10 4. This Court has jurisdiction under RICO Act.
11 Plaintiff demands $1 Billion against Defendant. 12 (Doc. 1 at 1.) 13
14 The allegations are conclusory and lack any meaningful detail. Although the 15 Complaint references RICO and states that there was a conspiracy between certain 16 individuals, the Complaint “does not contain any allegations explaining what these acts 17 were,” nor any “details regarding Defendant[’s] actions or how [Defendant’s] actions 18 violated” that statute. Marcos-Chavela v. Graham, Case No. C22-1035-RAJ, 2023 WL 19 2890363, at *1 (W.D. Wash. Apr. 11, 2023); Walton v. Murray, No. 2:08-CV-01347-RLH 20 (VPC), 2009 WL 1530682, at *2 (E.D. Cal. May 29, 2009) (dismissing complaint where 21 the plaintiff “provided no detail as to the circumstances of his due process violation against 22 defendant”).
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 FAYEE GU, Case No.: 25-cv-02326-RBM-AHG
13 Plaintiff, ORDER: 14 v. (1) GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S 15 SERGIO JIMENEZ, MOTION TO PROCEED IN FORMA 16 Defendant. PAUPERIS
17 (2) SCREENING COMPLAINT 18 PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2)(B) 19
20 (3) DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND 21
22 [Doc. 2] 23 24 On September 5, 2025, pro se Plaintiff Fayee Gu (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint 25 against Sergio Jimenez. (Doc. 1.) The same day, Plaintiff filed an Application to Proceed 26 in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (“IFP Motion”). (Doc. 2.) For the 27 reasons below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s IFP Motion and DISMISSES their 28 Complaint with leave to amend. 1 I. LEGAL STANDARD 2 The IFP Motion presents two issues. First, the Court must determine whether 3 Plaintiff properly shows an inability to pay the $4051 civil filing fee required by this Court. 4 See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(a). To that end, Plaintiff must provide the Court with a 5 signed affidavit “that includes a statement of all assets which shows inability to pay initial 6 fees or give security.” Civ. L.R. 3.2(a). Second, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) requires 7 the Court to evaluate whether Plaintiff’s Complaint sufficiently states a claim upon which 8 relief may be granted. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (“section 9 1915(e) not only permits but requires a district court to dismiss an [IFP] complaint that 10 fails to state a claim.”). The Court addresses each issue in turn. 11 II. DISCUSSION 12 A. Plaintiff’s IFP Application 13 An applicant need not be completely destitute to proceed IFP, but he must adequately 14 prove his indigence. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–40 15 (1948). An adequate affidavit should “allege[] that the affiant cannot pay the court costs 16 and still afford the necessities of life.” Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234 (9th 17 Cir. 2015) (citing Adkins, 335 U.S. at 339); see also United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 18 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981) (noting that an adequate affidavit should state supporting facts 19 “with some particularity, definiteness and certainty”) (citation omitted). No formula is “set 20 forth by statute, regulation, or case law to determine when someone is poor enough to earn 21 IFP status.” Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1235. Consequently, courts must evaluate IFP requests 22 on a case-by-case basis. See id. at 1235–36 (declining to implement a general benchmark 23 of “twenty percent of monthly household income”). 24 25 1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an administrative fee of $55. 26 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); United States Courts, District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule 27 § 14 (effective Dec. 1, 2023), https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/fees/district-court- miscellaneous-fee-schedule. The additional $55 administrative fee does not apply to 28 1 Here, Plaintiff declares that their household’s average monthly income is $2,000 and 2 their average monthly expenses are $2,150. (Doc. 2 at 1–2, 5.) Plaintiff declares that they 3 have $40 in a checking account and no other assets. (Id. at 2–3.) Additionally, under the 4 section requesting Plaintiff “[p]rovide any other information that will help explain why you 5 cannot pay the costs of these proceedings,” Plaintiff writes “I owed $143,015 court 6 judgment.” (Id. at 5.) Considering that Plaintiff’s expenses exceed their income, and that 7 Plaintiff appears to have a significant financial obligation in the court judgment, the Court 8 finds that Plaintiff “cannot pay the court costs and still afford the necessities of life.” 9 Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1234. Therefore, Plaintiff’s IFP Motion is GRANTED. 10 B. Screening Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) 11 As discussed above, every complaint filed IFP under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 is subject to 12 mandatory screening by the Court under § 1915(e)(2)(B). Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1127. Under 13 this provision, the Court must dismiss complaints that are (1) frivolous or malicious, (2) fail 14 to state a claim on which relief may be granted, or (3) seek monetary relief from defendants 15 who are immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Plaintiff’s Complaint 16 fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted. 17 “The standard for determining whether a plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon 18 which relief can be granted under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is the same as the Federal Rule of 19 Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) standard for failure to state a claim.” Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 20 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012). A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the 21 claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Rule 12(b)(6) 22 requires a complaint to “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim 23 to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (internal 24 quotation marks omitted). Although the Court must construe pro se pleadings liberally and 25 “afford the petitioner the benefit of any doubt,” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th 26 Cir. 2010) (citation omitted), it may not “supply essential elements of claims that were not 27 initially pled.” Ivey v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982). 28 1 The Complaint does not “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state 2 a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. The Complaint is 3 five sentences: 4 1. The current owner of the apartment where Plaintiff resides is Re/Max, as the former owner Raymond Chan claimed in his sworn affidavit, 5
6 2. Hong Yi Zeng conspired with Re/Max agent and fabricated a criminal charge against Plaintiff, 7
8 3. Defendant conspired with Hong Yi Zeng in violating Plaintiff’s due process. 9
10 4. This Court has jurisdiction under RICO Act.
11 Plaintiff demands $1 Billion against Defendant. 12 (Doc. 1 at 1.) 13
14 The allegations are conclusory and lack any meaningful detail. Although the 15 Complaint references RICO and states that there was a conspiracy between certain 16 individuals, the Complaint “does not contain any allegations explaining what these acts 17 were,” nor any “details regarding Defendant[’s] actions or how [Defendant’s] actions 18 violated” that statute. Marcos-Chavela v. Graham, Case No. C22-1035-RAJ, 2023 WL 19 2890363, at *1 (W.D. Wash. Apr. 11, 2023); Walton v. Murray, No. 2:08-CV-01347-RLH 20 (VPC), 2009 WL 1530682, at *2 (E.D. Cal. May 29, 2009) (dismissing complaint where 21 the plaintiff “provided no detail as to the circumstances of his due process violation against 22 defendant”). Therefore, the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to state any claims, and 23 Plaintiff’s Complaint must be DISMISSED with leave to amend. 24 The Court is also concerned that venue may be improper in the Southern District of 25 California. Venue is proper in: 26 (1) a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located; 27
28 (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions l giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated; or 3 (3) if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought as A provided in this section, any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to such action. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). 7 Plaintiff alleges no facts about Defendant Sergio Jimenez except that he conspired 8 || to violate Plaintiff's due process rights. (Doc. | at 1.) But the alleged conspiracy appears 9 relate to the “current owner of the apartment where Plaintiff resides.” (d.) And from 10 the IFP Motion (Doc. 2 at 5) and the envelope of the Complaint (Doc. 1-2 at 1), 11 || Plaintiff appears to reside in New York. If Plaintiff files an amended complaint, they must 12 allege facts establishing that venue is proper in the Southern District of California. 13 Ht. CONCLUSION 14 Based on the foregoing, Plaintiffs IFP Motion (Doc. 2) is GRANTED and 15 || Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED with leave to amend. Plaintiff may file an amended 16 ||complaint which cures the deficiencies noted in this Order on or before February 27, 17 ||2026. If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint by that deadline, the Court will enter 18 |/a final order dismissing this action based both on failure to state a claim upon which relief 19 be granted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) and failure to prosecute in 20 compliance with a court order requiring amendment. See Lira v. Herrera, 427 F.3d 1164, 21 (9th Cir. 2005) (‘If a plaintiff does not take advantage of the opportunity to fix his 22 complaint, a district court may convert the dismissal of the complaint into dismissal of the 23 entire action.”’) 24 IT IS SO ORDERED. 25 ||DATE: January 21, 2026 Meteae 17 ON. RUTH BERMBDEZ MONTENEGRO UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 28