Sims v. Souily-Lefave

Opinion

3 AURORE SIMS, Case No. 2:24-cv-00831-CDS-EJY

4 Plaintiff,

5 v. ORDER

6 ASSIA SOUILY-LEFAVE; AROUND VEGAS, LLC-1 DAY IN LAS VEGAS, 7 Defendants. 8 9 Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel. ECF No. 86. 10 As a general proposition, a civil litigant has no right to counsel. Lassiter v. Department of Social 11 Services of Durham County, 452 U.S. 18 (1981); Storseth v. Spellman, 654 F.2d 1349, 1353 (9th 12 Cir. 1981). A court may under “exceptional circumstances” appoint counsel for indigent civil 13 litigants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Agyeman v. Corrs. Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 14 (9th Cir. 2004), cert. denied sub nom. Gerber v. Agyeman, 545 U.S. 1128 (2005). When determining 15 whether “exceptional circumstances” exist, a court must consider “the likelihood of success on the 16 merits as well as the ability of the petitioner to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity 17 of the legal issues involved.” Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Here, Plaintiff 18 fails to establish exceptional circumstances as the Court finds there is limited likelihood that she will 19 be successful on the merits of her case. Further, while the Court is not unsympathetic to Plaintiff’s 20 health issues, “the Constitution does not require the elimination of all economic, intellectual, and 21 technological barriers to litigation.” Sands v. Lewis, 886 F.2d 1166, 1169 (9th Cir. 1989). 22 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of 23 Counsel (ECF No. 86) is DENIED. 24 DATED this 3rd day of December, 2024. 25