The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 MICHAEL ADAM WOOD, Case No. 1:23-cv-01146-CDB (SS)
12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION TO
PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS AND
13 v. DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO ISSUE
SUMMONS, SCHEDULING ORDER, AND
14 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, CONSENT OR REQUEST FOR
REASSIGNMENT DOCUMENTS
15 Defendant.
(Doc. 2)
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18 Plaintiff Michael Adam Woods (“Plaintiff”) seeks judicial review of an administrative
19 decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying Plaintiff’s claim for disability benefits
20 under the Social Security Act. (Doc. 1). Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s application to
21 proceed in forma pauperis. (Doc. 2). For the following reasons, the Court finds issuance of the
22 new case documents and Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis appropriate.
23 I. Proceeding in forma pauperis
24 The Court may authorize the commencement of an action without prepayment of fees “by
25 a person who submits an affidavit that includes a statement of all assts such person…possesses
26 (and) that the person is unable to pay such fees or give security therefor.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).
27 Here, the Court has reviewed the financial status affidavit (Doc. 2) and finds the requirements of
1 II. Screening Requirement
2 When a party seeks to proceed in forma pauperis, the Court is required to review the
3 complaint and shall dismiss the complaint, or portion thereof, if it is “frivolous, malicious or fails
4 to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or…seeks monetary relief from a defendant
5 who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(b) & (e)(2). A plaintiff’s claim is frivolous
6 “when the facts alleged rise to the level of the irrational or the wholly incredible, whether or not
7 there are judicially noticeable facts available to contradict them.” Denton v. Hernandez, 504
8 U.S. 25, 32-33 (1992).
9 III. Pleading Standards
10 A complaint must include a statement affirming the court’s jurisdiction, “a short and plain
11 statement of the claim showing the pleader is entitled to relief; and…a demand for the relief
12 sought, which may include relief in the alternative or different types of relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
13 8(a). The purpose of the complaint is to give the defendant fair notice of the claims, and the
14 grounds upon which the complaint stands. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512
15 (2002). As set forth by the Supreme Court, Rule 8:
16 … does not require detailed factual allegations, but it demands more than an
unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation. A pleading that
17 offers labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of
action will not do. Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders naked assertions devoid
18 of further factual enhancement.
19 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79 (2009) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
20 Vague and conclusory allegations do not support a cause of action. Ivey v. Board of Regents,
21 673 F.2 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982). The Iqbal Court clarified further,
22 [A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to “state a
claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
23 544, 570 (2009). A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual
content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is
24 liable for the misconduct alleged. Id. at 556. The plausibility standard is not akin
to a “probability requirement,” but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a
25 defendant has acted unlawfully. Id. Where a complaint pleads facts that are
“merely consistent with” a defendant’s liability, it “stops short of the line between
26 possibility and plausibility of “entitlement to relief.”
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1 and determine whether the facts would make the plaintiff entitled to relief; legal conclusions are
2 not entitled to the same assumption of truth. Id. The Court may grant leave to amend a complaint
3 to the extent deficiencies of the complaint can be cured by an amendment. Lopez v. Smith, 203
4 F.3d 1122, 1127-28 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc).
5 IV. Discussion and Analysis
6 The Court may have jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), which provides:
7 Any individual after any final decision of the Commissioner made after a hearing
to which he was a party, irrespective of the amount in controversy, may obtain a
8 review of such decision by a civil action commenced within sixty days after the
mailing to him of such decision or within such further time as the Commissioner
9 may allow. Such action shall be brought in the district court of the United States for
the judicial district in which the plaintiff resides or has his principal place of
10 business…The court shall have power to enter, upon the pleadings and transcript
of the record, a judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the
11 Commissioner of Social Security, with or without remanding the cause for a
rehearing.
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13 Id. Except as provided by statute, “[n]o findings of fact or decision of the Commissioner shall
14 be reviewed by any person, tribunal, or governmental agency.” 42 U.S.C. § 405(h).
15 Plaintiff seeks to appeal the final administrative decision denying an application for
16 benefits. (Doc. 1). Plaintiff reports the Appeals Council issued a notice denying a request for
17 review of the decision on June 22, 2023. Id. at 2. Thus, Plaintiff’s complaint is timely. See
18 Williamson v. Saul, No. 2:18-cv-02304 KJM CKD, 2019 WL 5721660, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 5,
19 2019). Plaintiff states he resides in Fresno, California. (Doc. 1 at 1). Therefore, the Court has
20 jurisdiction over this action.
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Conclusion and Order
2 Plaintiff's complaint states a cognizable claim for review of the administrative decision
3 | denying Social Security benefits. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's
4 | application to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 2) is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is directed
5 | to issue the following: 1) a Summons; 2) the Scheduling Order; 3) the Order re Consent or
6 | Request for Reassignment; and 4) a Consent to Assignment or Request for Reassignment form.
7 IS SO ORDERED.
8| Dated: _ August 2, 2023 | □□ D
9 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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