Allen v. Krucial Staffing, LLC
- John Koeltl
- 1:20-cv-02859
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Allen v. Krucial Staffing, LLC: Magistrate Judge Wang authorized seeking volunteer counsel for four pro se plaintiffs solely for mediation and settlement.
Alexis Allen, Aimee Branch, Jalen Eaton, and Letitia Hickenbottom, who were authorized to have counsel sought for limited assistance with mediation and settlement; the court’s Pro Se Office was directed to seek volunteer counsel.
What happened
In Allen v. Krucial Staffing, LLC, four plaintiffs—Alexis Allen, Aimee Branch, Jalen Eaton, and Letitia Hickenbottom—were proceeding without lawyers while discussing settlement. The court was informed that one lawyer had died and another had withdrawn.
The court considered whether the plaintiffs might need limited-scope counsel to help with settlement discussions. It noted that the relevant factors include the case’s merits, the plaintiffs’ ability to pay, their efforts to find a lawyer, the availability of lawyers, and their ability to handle the case without assistance.
The court authorized counsel for the limited purpose of helping with mediation and settlement and ordered the court’s Pro Se Office to seek volunteer lawyers who would make limited appearances. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang issued the order.
The detailed version
- Allen v. Krucial Staffing, LLC · No. 1:20-cv-02859
- John Koeltl
- July 12, 2022
Background
The court was told that the plaintiffs might need limited-scope counsel to support settlement discussions because Mr. Antollino had died and Mr. Baxter had withdrawn. Alexis Allen, Aimee Branch, Jalen Eaton, and Letitia Hickenbottom were proceeding without lawyers.
Legal standard
The court stated that requests for appointed counsel require consideration of the merits of the plaintiff’s case, the plaintiff’s ability to pay for private counsel, the plaintiff’s efforts to obtain a lawyer, the availability of counsel, and the plaintiff’s ability to gather facts and address the issues without assistance.
Ruling
Considering the proceedings to date and the case’s unusual posture, the court authorized the appointment of counsel for Allen, Branch, Eaton, and Hickenbottom for the limited purpose of assistance with mediation and settlement. It ordered the court’s Pro Se Office to seek limited-appearance volunteer lawyers. The order explained that civil cases have no court funds for retaining counsel, that volunteer lawyers may be scarce, that there is no guarantee a lawyer will take the case, and that the plaintiffs would otherwise continue without lawyers. Mr. Baxter was directed to serve the order on the four plaintiffs.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.