Miller v. Commissioner of Social Security

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 7 JONATHAN MILLER, 8 Plaintiff, Case No. 22-5790-RSM 9 v. ORDER DENYING APPLICATION 10 TO PROCEED IN FORMA COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, PAUPERIS 11 Defendant. 12 Plaintiff seeks to proceed in forma pauperis for an action seeking judicial review of the 13 administrative decision denying his application for Social Security benefits. See Dkt. 1. For the 14 reasons discussed below, the court DENIES Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis. 15 The district court may permit indigent litigants to proceed in forma pauperis upon 16 completion of a proper affidavit of indigence. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). “To qualify for in forma 17 pauperis status, a civil litigant must demonstrate both that the litigant is unable to pay court fees 18 and that the claims he or she seeks to pursue are not frivolous.” Ogunsalu v. Nair, 117 F. App’x 19 522, 523 (9th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 1051 (2005). To meet the first prong of this test, 20 a litigant must show that he or she “cannot because of his [or her] poverty pay or give security 21 for the costs and still be able to provide himself [or herself] and dependents with the necessities 22 of life.” Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948) (internal alterations 23 omitted). 1 His application shows he is presently employed with a net monthly salary of $1,846.61 and his 2 spouse is currently employed with a net monthly salary of $3,676.40. Dkt. 1 at 1. Plaintiff lists 3 monthly expenses of $3,674.07. Id. at 2. This leaves nearly $1,848.94 per month. Plaintiff’s 4 property includes a house valued at $262,200 and two vehicles worth $6,303. Id. Within the 5 past 12 months, Plaintiff received $6,347.76 in additional income, and Plaintiff currently has 6 $1,228.89 in his checking account. Id. When asked to provide more information to explain why 7 he cannot pay court fees and costs, Plaintiff answered he “does not have a ton of extra money 8 each month to play with” as he has other expenses to pay, though he does not include them in his 9 monthly expenses. See id. 10 When a claim of poverty is made under Section 1915, “it is proper and indeed essential

11 for the supporting affidavits to state the facts as to affiant’s poverty with some particularity, 12 definiteness and certainty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981). 13 Based on the information provided, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he “cannot because of 14 his poverty pay or give security for the costs and still be able to provide himself . . . with the 15 necessities of life.” See Adkins, 335 U.S. at 339 (internal alterations omitted). 16 Accordingly, Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED WITHOUT 17 PREJUDICE. Plaintiff has 30 days from the date of this order to pay the full filing fee or reapply 18 to proceed in forma pauperis. If the filing fee or a new application is not received within 30 19 days, the clerk’s office is instructed to dismiss this action WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

20 DATED this 19th day of October, 2022.

21 A 22 Ricardo S. Martinez 23 United States District Judge