Washington v. Tocco
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05561
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Washington v. Tocco, Judge Swain denied counsel without prejudice and extended Washington’s deadline to amend her complaint.
Charmeen Denise Washington, whose request for counsel was denied without prejudice and whose deadline to amend the complaint was extended.
What happened
Washington v. Tocco concerns Charmeen Denise Washington’s request for a lawyer in her federal civil case against Neurologiest Mr. Dr. Michael Tocco. Washington was representing herself and had not filed the amended complaint the court previously ordered.
The court denied Washington’s second request for appointed counsel without prejudice because it was too early to assess the case’s merits and unclear whether she could state a claim within the court’s jurisdiction. The court granted her 60 more days to file an amended complaint and warned that failing to do so could lead to dismissal without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also directed the Clerk to terminate the counsel motion and denied fee-free appeal status because she certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Washington v. Tocco · No. 1:23-cv-05561
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 5, 2023
Background
Washington filed the complaint on June 28, 2023, and later asked the court to request counsel. She was proceeding without a lawyer and without paying filing fees. In a July 27, 2023 order, the court directed her to file an amended complaint addressing deficiencies in the original complaint and denied her first request for counsel without prejudice, meaning she could renew the request later.
Washington did not file an amended complaint. On August 29, 2023, she filed a second request for counsel. The opinion states that the court could not yet assess the merits and that it was unclear whether Washington could state a claim within the court’s subject matter jurisdiction, meaning the court’s legal authority to hear the case.
Ruling
The court denied Washington’s second motion for counsel without prejudice for the same reasons given in the earlier order. It granted Washington an extension of time to file an amended complaint. She was given 60 days from the date of the order to submit a document labeled “Amended Complaint” and marked with docket number 23-CV-05561.
The court warned that if Washington did not comply within that period and could not show good cause for the failure, the complaint would be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion for counsel. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Washington’s underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.