Williams v. Progressive Insurance Company

Filing 17

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs Motion for Appointment of Counsel [ 4 ] is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 10/4/16. (JAB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DISTRICT

MAURICE WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,
v.
PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE CO.,
Defendant.

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No. 4:16-CV-01214 JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel. (Doc.
No. 4) After review of the record in this matter, the Court declines to appoint counsel for
Plaintiff at this time. 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 nonfrivolous 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. After
considering these factors, the Court finds the facts and legal issues involved in this action are not
so complicated that the appointment of counsel is warranted at this time. As such, Plaintiff’s
motion for appointment of counsel will be denied, without prejudice.
Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel [4] is
DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 4th day of October, 2016.

JOHN A. ROSS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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