Isaac v. Flenoid

Filing 19

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for extension of time to file an amended complaint and for appointment of counsel [ECF No. 3] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiff must file an amended complaint wit hin fourteen (14) days from the date of this Order. Plaintiff's request for counsel is DENIED without prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for discovery [ECF No. 15] is DENIED without prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if plaintiff fails to comply with this Order, the Court will dismiss this action without further proceedings.( Amended/Supplemental Pleadings due by 4/20/2016.). Signed by District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr on 4/6/2016. (JMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
HAROLD D. ISAAC,
Plaintiff,
v.
UNKNOWN FLENOID, et al.,
Defendants,

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No. 1:16CV27 SNLJ

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on plaintiff’s motion for extension of time to file an
amended complaint, for appointment of counsel, and for discovery.
The Court will give plaintiff fourteen days from the date of this Order to file an amended
complaint. No further extensions will be given. Plaintiff does not need counsel to present his
case to the Court. He need only state the facts he believes entitle him to relief. Plaintiff has
written several letters to the Court since he has filed this action. So, he has demonstrated the
ability to present his case to the Court.
There is no constitutional or statutory right to appointed counsel in civil cases. Nelson v.
Redfield Lithograph Printing, 728 F.2d 1003, 1004 (8th Cir. 1984). In determining whether to
appoint counsel, the Court considers several factors, including (1) whether the plaintiff has
presented non-frivolous allegations supporting his or her prayer for relief; (2) whether the
plaintiff will substantially benefit from the appointment of counsel; (3) whether there is a need to
further investigate and present the facts related to the plaintiff’s allegations; and (4) whether the
factual and legal issues presented by the action are complex. See Johnson v. Williams, 788 F.2d
1319, 1322-23 (8th Cir. 1986); Nelson, 728 F.2d at 1005. Plaintiff has presented non-frivolous

allegations in his complaint. Again, he has demonstrated, at this point, that he can adequately
present his claims to the Court. And neither the factual nor the legal issues in this case are
complex. Therefore, the motion is denied without prejudice.
Finally, discovery is not authorized until the Court issues a Case Management Order. So,
the motion for discovery is denied.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for extension of time to file an
amended complaint and for appointment of counsel [ECF No. 3] is GRANTED in part and
DENIED in part. Plaintiff must file an amended complaint within fourteen (14) days from the
date of this Order. Plaintiff’s request for counsel is DENIED without prejudice.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for discovery [ECF No. 15] is
DENIED without prejudice.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if plaintiff fails to comply with this Order, the Court
will dismiss this action without further proceedings.
Dated this 6th day of April, 2016.

STEPHEN N. LIMBAUGH, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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