Williams v. Rosenblatt Securities Inc.

Filing 225

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER. The plaintiff's application for the Court to appoint counsel is denied without prejudice for failure to make the required showing at this time. The Clerk is directed to close Docket No. 218. So ordered. re: 218 MOTION to Appoint Counsel filed by Steven A. Williams. (Signed by Judge John G. Koeltl on 1/26/2016) (rjm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
────────────────────────────────────
STEVEN A. WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,

14 Civ. 4390 (JGK)

- against -

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND
ORDER

ROSENBLATT SECURITIES INC., ET AL.,
Defendants.
────────────────────────────────────
JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:
The Court has received the pro se plaintiff’s request for
appointment of counsel. However, from the papers provided, the
Court cannot determine that the necessary showing for
appointment of counsel has been met. The Court of Appeals for
the Second Circuit has articulated factors that should guide the
Court’s discretion to appoint counsel to represent an indigent
civil litigant under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. See Hodge v. Police
Officers, 802 F.2d 58, 61-62 (2d Cir. 1986). For the Court to
order the appointment of counsel, the plaintiff must, as a
threshold matter, demonstrate that his claim has substance or a
likelihood of success on the merits. See Hodge, 802 F.2d at 6061. Only then can the Court consider the other factors
appropriate to determination of whether counsel should be
appointed: “plaintiff’s ability to obtain representation
independently, and his ability to handle the case without
assistance in the light of the required factual investigation,
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the complexity of the legal issues, and the need for expertly
conducted cross-examination to test veracity.”

Cooper v. A.

Sargenti Co., Inc., 877 F.2d 170, 172 (2d Cir. 1989); see also
Kinlock v. Yourth, No. 11-cv-8696 (JGK), 2012 WL 1963376, at *1
(S.D.N.Y. May 30, 2012).
The plaintiff has not yet made such a showing. The
plaintiff’s application for the Court to appoint counsel is
therefore denied without prejudice for failure to make the
required showing at this time. The Clerk is directed to close
Docket No. 218.

SO ORDERED.

Dated:

New York, New York
January 26, 2016
______________/s/___________
John G. Koeltl
United States District Judge

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