Capadanno v. AT&T Corp

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE JOHN CAPADANNO, CASE NO. C20-1690 MJP Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL v. Defendants.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Counsel. (Dkt. No. 12.) Having reviewed the Motion and the relevant portions of the record, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion. The Court has discretion to appoint counsel for indigent civil litigants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), but an appointment of counsel should only be granted under “exceptional circumstances.” Agyeman v. Corrections Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004). “A finding of the exceptional circumstances of the plaintiff seeking assistance requires at least an evaluation of the likelihood of the plaintiff’s success on the merits and an evaluation of the plaintiff's ability to articulate his claims in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). Plaintiff has not demonstrated the merits of his claims in his Motion for Appointment of Counsel, and the Court is unable to find sufficient merit on the face of his complaint to warrant

appointment. Plaintiff has not presented exceptional circumstances that would justify the appointment of counsel at this time. Plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel is DENIED. The clerk is ordered to provide copies of this order to Plaintiff and counsel. Dated February 8, 2021. A Marsha J. Pechman United States District Judge