Simmons v. City of Mount Vernon

Background

Terri Simmons, who was proceeding without a lawyer and without paying filing fees, moved for appointment of free counsel to help her respond to defendants’ motion to dismiss her amended complaint. The court had previously denied that request as moot because Simmons had already responded to the motion.

Simmons then asked the court to reconsider that earlier order. A reconsideration request asks the court to revisit a prior decision.

Court’s analysis

The court held that Simmons’s request remained moot because defendants’ motion to dismiss was fully briefed and the court did not intend to reopen briefing. The court separately considered the case’s type and complexity, the merits of Simmons’s claims, and her ability to present the case. It found no exceptional circumstances that warranted appointing counsel to assist her with the response to the motion to dismiss.

The court stated that it would consider Simmons’s request for counsel more generally after ruling on defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint, including her request and circumstances when deciding that motion.

Ruling

Judge Vincent L. Briccetti denied Simmons’s request for reconsideration of the earlier order. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Simmons’s ability to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint.

Effect

The order left the earlier denial of counsel in place for responding to the motion to dismiss. It preserved the court’s consideration of Simmons’s broader request for counsel after the court rules on that motion.