United States District Court, D. Nevada
ORDER
Robert
C. Jones, United States District Judge.
Before
this Court is the Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed in Forma
Pauperis (ECF No. 1) for her claim that she was improperly
denied benefits by the Social Security Administration.
However, the Plaintiff does not contain any factual or
jurisdictional allegations, so the Court dismisses the case
without prejudice with leave to amend.
DISCUSSION
I.
Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis
Plaintiff
filed this instant action and attached a financial affidavit
to her application and complaint as required by 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(a). Having reviewed Plaintiff's financial
affidavit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915, the Court finds
that Plaintiff is unable to pre-pay the filing fee.
Therefore, Plaintiff's request to proceed in forma
pauperis in federal court is granted.
II.
Screening of the Complaint
Upon
granting a request to proceed in forma pauperis, a court must
additionally screen a complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e). Specifically, federal courts are given the authority
to dismiss a case if the action is legally “frivolous
or malicious, ” fails to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a
defendant/third party plaintiff who is immune from such
relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). A complaint, or portion
thereof, should be dismissed for failure to state a claim
upon which relief may be granted “if it appears beyond
a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in
support of his claims that would entitle him to
relief.” Buckey v. Los Angeles, 968 F.2d 791,
794 (9th Cir. 1992). When a court dismisses a complaint under
§ 1915(e), the plaintiff should be given leave to amend
the complaint with directions as to curing its deficiencies,
unless it is clear from the face of the complaint that the
deficiencies could not be cured by amendment. See Cato v.
United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1106 (9th Cir. 1995).
To
satisfy the screening requirements with respect to social
security appeals, a plaintiff must set forth the following:
(1) the plaintiff must establish that she has exhausted her
administrative remedies pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g),
and that the civil action was commenced within sixty days
after notice of a final decision; (2) the complaint must
indicate the judicial district in which the plaintiff
resides; (3) the complaint must state the nature of the
plaintiff's disability and when the plaintiff claims she
became disabled; and (4) the complaint must contain a plain,
short, and concise statement identifying the nature of the
plaintiff's disagreement with the determination made by
the Social Security Administration and show that the
plaintiff is entitled to relief. Montoya v. Colvin,
2016 WL 890922, at *2 (D. Nev. Mar. 8, 2016) (citing
Soete v. Colvin, 2013 WL 5947231, *2 (D. Nev. Nov.
4, 2013); Pitcher v. Astrue, 2012 WL 3780354, *1 (D.
Nev. Aug. 30, 2012)).
The
Plaintiffs complaint is insufficient. She has not made any
specific factual allegations regarding the case in the
complaint. She merely states the case involves a refusal to
grant disability pay. She does not allege in her complaint:
(1) that she exhausted administrative remedies, (2) that
resides in the district, (3) the nature and timing of her
disability, and (4) the nature of her disagreement with the
ruling of the Social Security Administration. The complaint
needs to be separated out into numbered paragraphs containing
the necessary factual allegations. Because the complaint
fails to do so, the Court dismisses the Plaintiffs complaint
with leave to amend. The Plaintiff needs to file a new
complaint alleging all the necessary facts shown above by J
July 10, 2019.
The
Court encourages the Plaintiff to visit the Social Security
Administration's website
(https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/appeal.html) for
information on how to appeal its findings and exhaust the
administrative remedies, if the Plaintiff has not already
done so.
CONCLUSION
IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED that the Plaintiff s Motion to Proceed in
Forma Pauperis (ECF No. 1) is GRANTED. The Plaintiff shall
not be required to pre-pay the full filing fee.
IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall file the
Complaint (ECF No. 1-1).
IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that the Complaint (ECF No. 1-1) is DISMISSED
with leave to amend. Plaintiff shall have until July 10, 2019
o file an ...