Weaver v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration

1 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Jessica Weaver, No. CV-25-00356-TUC-LCK 10 Plaintiff, REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION 11 v. 12 Commissioner of Social Security Administration, 13 14 Defendant. 15 Pending before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (IFP). 16 (Doc. 2.) Because there is not, and absent the Defendant's appearance cannot be, full 17 consent to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction in this case, the assigned Magistrate Judge submits 18 a Report and Recommendation to Senior District Judge Raner C. Collins. Gen. Ord. 21-25. 19 The Magistrate Judge recommends the District Court, after its independent review of the 20 record, deny the Motion and direct Plaintiff to pay the filing fee or her case will be 21 dismissed. 22 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), a plaintiff may file an action without paying the 23 filing fee if she submits an affidavit stating that she lacks sufficient funds, and if her suit is 24 not frivolous or malicious. Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1226 (9th Cir. 1984). A 25 plaintiff's affidavit is sufficient to support her application when "it alleges that the affiant 26 cannot pay the court costs and still afford the necessities of life." Escobedo v. Applebees, 27 787 F.3d 1226, 1228 (9th Cir. 2015) (citing Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 28 U.S. 331, 339 (1948)). To obtain IFP status, the plaintiff "must allege poverty 'with some || particularity, definiteness and certainty." /d. (quoting United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d || 938, 940 (9th Cir. 1981)). 3 In her application, Plaintiff indicated that she currently is working and will earn 4|| $4000 this month. (Doc. 2 at 1.) Plaintiff stated that she has approximately $4290 in 5 || savings, which she has earmarked for a vacation with her daughter. (/d. at 2, 5.) She does 6 || not own substantial assets but also does not have significant debt. (/d. at 3-4.) She indicated 7\| that other family members live with them, but her portion of household expenses are less 8] than her income. (/d. at 3, 5.) Additionally, her expenses include saving $1000 per month 9|| for her daughter to use in the future. (/d. at 5.) 10 Given Plaintiff's income, which exceeds her monthly expenses and allows her to save monthly, her limited debt, and her current savings totalling over $4000, the Court 12 || finds that Plaintiff has not established her poverty with certainty or that she will not be able 13} to afford the necessities of life if she is required to pay the $405 filing fee. Based on the 14|| foregoing, the Magistrate Judge recommends that the District Court enter an order denying 15} Plaintiff's Motion for In Forma Pauperis Status (Doc. 2) and directing her to pay the filing fee or her Complaint will be subject to dismissal. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b)(2), Plaintiff may serve and file written objections within fourteen days of 18 || being served with a copy of the Report and Recommendation. If objections are not timely 19|| filed, they may be deemed waived. 20 Dated this 9th day of July, 2025. 21 22 . . 23 Liane 0. eipr— onorable Lynnette C. Kimmiuns 24 United States Magistrate Judge 25 26 27 28 -2-