Bakhtiari v. Bagwell et al

Filing 18

ORDER granting 17 MOTION to Withdraw as Attorney Dismiss Appointment/Motion to Appoint Other Counsel filed by Alireza Bakhtiari. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that attorney ERIC A. TODD of Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC, St. Louis, Missouri, is ASSIGNED to represent Plaintiff Alireza Bakhtiari in this civil rights case in this District Court. (Amended Pleadings due by 3/31/2016). Signed by Judge Staci M. Yandle on 1/28/2016. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
ALIREZA BAKHTIARI,
Plaintiff,
vs.
M. BAGWELL, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 3:15-cv-00922-SMY

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
YANDLE, District Judge:
On August 19, 2015, Plaintiff Alireza Bakhtiari filed an eighty-two page complaint
against a number of federal prison officials and staff concerning his incarceration at the United
States Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois. (Doc. 2.) Bakhtiari’s complaint alleged a lack of medical
treatment, retaliation linked to one of Bakhtiari’s lawsuits and a denial of due process related to
prison discipline. (See id. at 4-8.) On September 28, 2015, the Court dismissed Bakhtiari’s
complaint without prejudice for violating Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 and granted him
leave to file an amended complaint. (Doc. 10.) The complaint suffered from confusing crossreferences and shotgun-style allegations, generic, conclusory statements, and surplus rhetoric
that rendered it needlessly convoluted and difficult for the undersigned to parse and understand.
(Id.)
Bakhtiari timely filed his first amended complaint on October 26, 2015. (Doc. 12.) The
eighty-six page complaint focused on the same issues of lack of medical treatment, retaliation,
and unconstitutional disciplinary action. (See id. at 4.) It too contained conclusory language and
surplus rhetoric that, combined with its length and intricacy, rendered this Court’s task in
identifying cognizable claims extremely difficult. (Doc. 15.) The Court, however, determined
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that Bakhtiari possibly suffered constitutional injury but that he would only be able to
sufficiently allege such injury before this Court were he aided by “the guiding hand of counsel.”
Childress v. Walker, 787 F.3d 433, 443 (7th Cir. 2015). Accordingly, the undersigned appointed
attorney Rebecca L. Reinhardt of Sharp-Hundley, P.C., to aid Bakhtiari during the threshold
period of his case.
Before this Court is Ms. Reinhardt’s motion to withdraw her representation of Bakhtiari.
(Doc. 17). The Court notes that most of Ms. Reinhardt’s reasons for withdrawing during this
initial screening period are not persuasive. She asserts her lack of familiarity with the legal issues
presented in this case, informing the Court that her practice is exclusively limited to family law
and probate matters. She further asserts that, with the exception of a few bankruptcy cases, she
has not handled any federal court cases since August 13, 2012. However, Ms. Reinhardt also
advises that she does not intend to renew her membership to this Court’s Bar by the upcoming
deadline. Because Ms. Reinhardt wishes to be removed from the rolls of the Southern District of
Illinois, the Court grants her motion to withdraw from representing Baktriari. The Court will
therefore, pursuant to its discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), appoint another lawyer to help
Bakhtiari during the threshold stage of his case.
DISPOSITION
IT IS HEREBY ORDEREED that Rebecca L. Reinhardt’s Motion for Relief From
Assignment as Plaintiff’s attorney (Doc. 17) is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that attorney ERIC A. TODD of Ogletree Deakins Nash
Smoak & Stewart PC, St. Louis, Missouri, is ASSIGNED to represent Plaintiff Alireza Bakhtiari
in this civil rights case in this District Court. On or before February 12, 2016, assigned counsel
shall enter his/her appearance in this case. Attorney Todd is free to share responsibilities with an

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associate who is also admitted to practice in this district court. Assigned counsel, however, shall
make first contact with Plaintiff, explaining that an associate may also be working on the case.
Plaintiff should wait for his attorney to contact him in order to allow counsel an opportunity to
review the court file.
The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to transmit this Order and copies of the docket sheet
and Docs. 7, 11, 13, 17, and 21 to attorney Todd. The electronic case file is available through the
CM-ECF system.
Plaintiff is ADVISED that the Court will not accept any filings from him individually
while he is represented by counsel, except a pleading that asks that he be allowed to have counsel
withdraw from representation. If counsel is allowed to withdraw at the request of Plaintiff, there
is no guarantee the Court will appoint other counsel to represent Plaintiff.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, on or before March 31, 2016, Plaintiff, by and
through counsel, shall file a second amended complaint and any further proposed complaints the
Plaintiff may or may not wish to file. The complaints will then undergo preliminary review.
Finally, Plaintiff is ADVISED that he is under a continuing obligation to keep the Clerk
of Court, his assigned counsel, and each opposing party informed of any change in his address;
the Court will not independently investigate his whereabouts. This shall be done in writing and
not later than 7 days after a transfer or other change in address occurs. Failure to comply with
this order will cause a delay in the transmission of court documents and may result in dismissal
of this action for want of prosecution. See FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: January 28, 2016
s/ STACI M. YANDLE
Honorable Staci M. Yandle
United States District Court

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