United States District Court, D. Arizona
ORDER
Eileen
S. Willett United States Magistrate Judge
Before
the Court are Plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. 1) and
Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying
Fees or Costs (Doc. 2).
I.
Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying
Fees or Costs
The
district court may permit indigent litigants to proceed in
forma pauperis upon completion of a proper affidavit of
indigence. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). In the
application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs,
Plaintiff declares under penalty of perjury that he is unable
to pay the filing fee and other costs associated with this
case. Plaintiff presents financial information to support his
application. Given Plaintiff's lack of income and the
absence of any significant assets, his motion will be
granted.
II.
LEGAL STANDARDS
A.
Statutory Screening of In Forma Pauperis Complaint Pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)
With
respect to in forma pauperis proceedings, the Court shall
dismiss such action at any time if it determines that:
(A) the allegation of poverty is untrue; or
(B) the action or appeal-
(i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on
which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief
against a defendant who is immune from such relief.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). See also Lopez v.
Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126 fnt. 7 (9th Cir. 2000) (28
U.S.C. § 1915(e) “applies to all in forma pauperis
complaints, ” not merely those filed by prisoners). The
Court must therefore dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint
if it fails to state a claim or if it is frivolous or
malicious. Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1127 (“It is
also clear that section 1915(e) not only permits but requires
a district court to dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint
that fails to state a claim.”); Franklin v.
Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1226-27 (9th Cir. 1984).
In
order to state a claim for relief, Rule 8 of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a complaint must
include: (1) “a short and plain statement of the
grounds for the court's jurisdiction;” (2) “a
short and plain statement of the claim showing that the
pleader is entitled to relief;” and (3) “a demand
for the relief sought.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a). The short
and plain statement for relief “need not contain
detailed factual allegations; rather, it must plead
‘enough facts to state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face.'” Clemens v.
DaimlerChrysler Corp., 534 F.3d 1017, 1022 (9th Cir.
2008) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
544, 570 (2007)). Rule 8 “demands more than an
unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation,
” see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556
U.S. 662, 678 (2009), and “conclusory allegations of
law and unwarranted inferences are not sufficient, ”
Pareto v. F.D.I.C., 139 F.3d 696, 699 (9th Cir.
1998). Further, “[e]ach allegation must be simple,
concise, and direct.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(d)(1).
Rule 10
requires that:
A party must state its claims or defenses in numbered
paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single
set of circumstances. A later pleading may refer by number to
a paragraph in an earlier pleading. If doing so would promote
clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or
occurrence-and ...