Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_18-cv-01848/USCOURTS-casd-3_18-cv-01848-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 864
Nature of Suit: Social Security - SSID Title XVI
Cause of Action: 42:0402 Social Security Benefits

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

WILLIAM JOSEPH KOVACH,

Plaintiff,

v.

NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting 

Commissioner of Social Security,

Defendant.

Case No.: 3:18-cv-01848-GPC-BLM

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR 

LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA 

PAUPERIS

[ECF No. 2]

Plaintiff, William Joseph Kovach, with counsel, has filed a complaint requesting 

judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision denying Plaintiff’s claims for disability 

insurance benefits and supplemental security income under Title II & XVI of the Social 

Security Act. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff did not prepay the civil filing fee required by 28 

U.S.C. § 1914(a) at the time of the filing, but instead filed a Motion to Proceed in Forma 

Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. (ECF No. 2.) For the following reasons, 

the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP. 

All parties instituting any civil action, suit, or proceeding in a district court of the 

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United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 

$400. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). An action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to 

prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007); Rodriguez v. 

Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). A court may authorize the commencement of 

a suit without prepayment of fees if the plaintiff submits an affidavit, including a 

statement of all of his or her assets, showing that he or she is unable to pay the fees. See

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Such an affidavit must include a complete statement of the 

plaintiff’s assets. See id.

Here, Plaintiff submitted a declaration reporting that his employment earns him 

$450 per month. (ECF No. 2 at 1.) He has $15 in a checking account, and owns a 

motorcycle worth $1,500. (Id. at 2–3.) His monthly expenses are $1,200 per month. (Id.

at 4–5.) Plaintiff does not expect any major changes to his monthly income or expenses, 

or in his assets or liabilities, during the next year. (Id. at 5.) He indicates that he will pay 

his attorney on a contingency fee basis or by obtaining statutory attorney fees. (Id.)

Plaintiff has sufficiently demonstrated that he is unable to pay the required filing 

fee and that he meets the requirements to proceed IFP. Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to 

Proceed in Forma Pauperis is therefore GRANTED. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 8, 2018

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