Shankar v. Microsoft Corporation et al

Filing 13

ORDER denying Plaintiff's #8 Motion to Appoint Counsel; granting Plaintiff's #11 Motion to Seal. Plaintiff's motion to appoint counsel (Dkt. No. #8 ) is DENIED. The motion to seal (Dkt. No. #11 ) is GRANTED and the Clerk is DIRECTED to maintain Docket Numbers #1 , #5 , #9 , and #10 under seal. Signed by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour. (KRA)

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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RAGHAVENDRAN SHANKAR,

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Plaintiff,

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CASE NO. C24-0308-JCC
ORDER

v.

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MICROSOFT CORPORATION, et al.,

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Defendants.

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This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel and motion

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to seal (Dkt. Nos. 8, 11). Having duly considered the relevant record, the Court hereby DENIES

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the motion to appoint counsel and GRANTS the motion to seal for the reasons described below.
The appointment of counsel for a pro se litigant in a civil case “is a privilege and not a

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right.” United States ex rel. Gardner v. Madden, 352 F.2d 792, 793 (9th Cir. 1965). A court may

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appoint counsel for indigent civil litigants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) 1 but should do so

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“only in exceptional circumstances.” Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1236 (9th Cir. 1984).

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When determining whether exceptional circumstances justify the appointment of counsel, the

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Although courts often refer to motions under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) as motions to appoint
counsel, the statute does not actually authorize the Court to force a lawyer to take a case. Nor
does the Court have staff attorneys standing by to represent pro se litigants. Instead, the Court
may only “request” that an attorney represent an indigent litigant. Id. § 1915(e); see also Mallard
v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for S. Dist. of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 307 (1989) (holding that § 1915(e) authorizes
“courts to ask but not compel lawyers to represent indigent litigants”).
ORDER
C24-0308-JCC
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Court considers “the likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the petitioner to

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articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Wilborn v.

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Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986) (quoting Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954

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(9th Cir. 1983)). Moreover, it is within the Court’s discretion “to deny the motion when [a party

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is] unable, or unwilling, to verify their poverty.” United States v. McQuade, 647 F.2d 938, 940

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(9th Cir. 1981) (citing Jefferson v. United States, 277 F.2d 723, 725 (9th Cir. 1960)).

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Here, Plaintiff has failed to provide any evidence verifying his indigence. Indeed, the

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Honorable S. Kate Vaughan, United States Magistrate Judge, previously recommended denying

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Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis for this very reason. (See Dkt. No. 3.) And in

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doing so, she noted that “[i]n the past twelve months, Plaintiff indicates he has received

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$100,000 in business or professional income, $5,000 in public assistance, [] $70,000 in income

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from other sources,” and “between $50,000 and $70,000 in savings.” (Id. at 1.) Accordingly,

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because Plaintiff appears to have the financial resources to retain counsel, his motion to appoint

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counsel (Dkt. No. 8) is DENIED.

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Separately, Plaintiff moves to seal several documents, including three complaints and his

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motion to proceed in forma pauperis (Dkt. Nos. 1, 5, 9, 10). While the public has a common law

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right to inspect and copy public records, including those from judicial proceedings, these rights

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are not absolute. They must yield when (1) sealing a document serves a compelling interest, (2)

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that is substantially likely to be harmed if the document is not sealed, and (3) there are no less

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restrictive alternatives for protecting the interest. See United States v. Doe, 870 F.3d 991, 998

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(9th Cir. 2017). Given the nature of the information contained in the materials at issue, these

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criteria are met here.

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Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel (Dkt. No. 8) is DENIED. The motion

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to seal (Dkt. No. 11) is GRANTED and the Clerk is DIRECTED to maintain Docket Numbers 1,

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5, 9, and 10 under seal.

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//
ORDER
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DATED this 3rd day of April 2024.

A

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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ORDER
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