Jones v. Social Security Administration

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

JOSHUA JONES CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS NO. 22-443 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, COMMISSIONER OF THE SECTION: “G”(3) SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

ORDER Before the Court is Plaintiff Joshua Jones’s Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis on Appeal.1 Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(1) provides: [A] party to a district-court action who desires to appeal in forma pauperis must file a motion in the district court. The party must attach an affidavit that: (A) shows in the detail prescribed by Form 4 of the Appendix of Forms the party’s inability to pay or to give security for fees and costs; (B) claims an entitlement to redress; and (C) states the issues that the party intends to present on appeal.

A litigant seeking authorization to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal must show that he is a pauper and that the appeal is taken in good faith.2 The Court’s inquiry into a litigant’s good faith “is limited to whether the appeal involves legal points arguable on their merits (and therefore not frivolous).”3 “To establish financial eligibility to proceed in forma pauperis, a movant need not

1 Rec. Doc. 37. 2 Howard v. King, 707 F.2d 215, 219–20 (5th Cir. 1983). 3 Id. at 220. 1 show absolute destitution.’”* “The central question is whether the movant can afford the costs of a particular litigation without undue hardship or deprivation of the necessities of life.”> In the affidavit attached to the motion, Plaintiff asserts that his monthly household expenses exceed his monthly household income. Plaintiff does not state the issues he intends to raise on appeal. However, this case involved the application of a new Listing to a pending Social Security application, which is an issue that has not previously been addressed by the Fifth Circuit. Therefore, the Court finds that the appeal involves legal points arguable on their merits, and the cost of an appeal would cause undue hardship. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED Plaintiff Joshua Jones’s Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis on Appeal® is GRANTED. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, this27th day of November, 2023.

NANNETTE JOLIVETTE BROWN CHIEF JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

4 Winsley v. Federal Exp. Corp., 393 F. App’x 145, 146 (5th Cir. 2010) (citing Adkins v. E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948)).

® Rec. Doc. 37.