Feliz v. Montefari
- Gabriel Gorenstein
- 1:22-cv-08635
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Feliz v. Montegari, Judge Gorenstein denied pro se plaintiff Juan Feliz’s request for appointed counsel.
Juan Feliz’s request for appointed counsel was denied, although the court stated it might seek counsel for him later without another request if warranted.
What happened
In Juan Feliz v. Alfred Montegari, et al., Juan Feliz asked the court to appoint a lawyer to represent him.
The court said Feliz was representing himself. Applying the listed factors, it found that his filing and other papers did not currently show that his claim was strong enough to justify seeking a volunteer lawyer. The court also found that the case was not so difficult that Feliz could not address the relevant facts or other issues.
Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein denied the request for counsel. He said the court would seek to appoint counsel later without another request from Feliz if future review showed that appointment was warranted.
The detailed version
- Feliz v. Montefari · No. 1:22-cv-08635
- Gabriel Gorenstein
- Aug. 31, 2023
Background
Juan Feliz, identified in the order as a self-represented plaintiff, applied for appointment of counsel. The application was docketed as Docket No. 31.
Court’s analysis
The court applied the factors from Cooper v. A. Sargenti Co., 877 F.2d 170 (2d Cir. 1989). It determined that Feliz’s application, together with the other papers filed in the action, did not at that time demonstrate that his claim was likely to be sufficiently substantial to warrant seeking volunteer counsel. The court also concluded that the case was not so difficult that Feliz would be unable to address relevant facts or other issues expected to arise.
Disposition
The court denied Feliz’s request for counsel. It stated that it would seek appointment of counsel without requiring another request from Feliz if later review showed that appointment was warranted.
Judge
The order was signed by Gabriel W. Gorenstein, United States Magistrate Judge.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.