Pistole v. Kijakazi

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 BILLY P., Case No.: 22-cv-0113-DEB

12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING APPLICATION 13 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting

Commissioner of Social Security, 15 [DKT. NO. 2] Defendant. 16

17 Before the Court is Plaintiff Billy P.’s Application to Proceed with his Complaint in 18 forma pauperis. Dkt. No. 2. For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies the 19 Application. 20 All parties instituting a civil action, suit, or proceeding in a district court of the 21 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a $400 filing fee. 22 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). A court may authorize the commencement of a suit without 23 prepayment of fees if the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a statement of all his 24 assets, showing he is unable to pay the filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The affidavit 25 must “state the facts as to [the] affiant’s poverty with some particularity, definiteness and 26 certainty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981). An affidavit is 27 sufficient if it shows the applicant cannot pay the fee “and still be able to provide himself 28 1 ||and dependents with the necessities of life.” Rowland v. California Men’s Colony, Unit I 2 || Men’s Advisory Council, 506 U.S. 194, 203 (1993) (internal quotations omitted). 3 Here, Plaintiff's application states he and his spouse receive a combined monthly 4 ||income of $6,400 from veteran’s benefits. Dkt. No. 2 at 1-2. He also reports checking 5 || accounts and cash at hand amounting to $319 and a 1961 Mercury Comet valued at $5000. 6 Although Plaintiff claims his monthly expenses average $6350, “the Court [is] hard 7 || pressed to find someone receiving more than $5,000 a month in income should be allowed 8 || to proceed at public expense.” See Boudreaux v. Saul, No. 20-cv-274-BGS, 2020 U.S. Dist. 9 || LEXIS 64283, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 10, 2020). The Court, therefore, DENIES □□□□□□□□□□□ 10 || Application to proceed in forma pauperis. 11 Plaintiff must pay the requisite filing fee on or before March 7, 2022, or his case 12 be dismissed. 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 || Dated: February 7, 2022 — i Dando oa 16 Honorable Daniel E. Butcher United States Magistrate Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28