Desormeaux v. Auto Rental, LLC

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 * * * 4 MONIQUE DESORMEAUX, Case No. 2:25-cv-01352-EJY 5 Plaintiff, ORDER 6 v. 7 AUTO RENTAL, LLC, 8 Defendant. [9] 10 Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel. ECF No. 10. 11 As a general proposition, a civil litigant has no right to counsel. Lassiter v. Department of Social 12 Services of Durham County, 452 U.S. 18 (1981); Storseth v. Spellman, 654 F.2d 1349, 1353 (9th 13 Cir. 1981). Under “exceptional circumstances” a court may appoint counsel for indigent civil 14 litigants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (e)(1). Agyeman v. Corrs. Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101 , 1103 15 (9th Cir. 2004), cert. denied sub nom. Gerber v. Agyeman, 545 U.S. 1128 (2005). When determining 16 whether “exceptional circumstances” exist, a court must consider “the likelihood of success on the 17 merits as well as the ability of the petitioner to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity 18 of the legal issues involved.” Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). 19 The Court finds Plaintiff’s Motion fails to establish the extraordinary circumstances to 20 support appointment of counsel. Plaintiff’s lack of adequate legal knowledge and comprehension 21 do not rise to the level of exceptional circumstance. Zamaro v. Moonga, 656 F. App’x 297, 299 (9th 22 Cir. 2016) (explaining that the lack of adequate knowledge of “complex legal and medical issues” 23 is not an exceptional circumstance “in light of the legal competence of most prisoners in similar 24 situations.”). And, “the Constitution does not require the elimination of all economic, intellectual, 25 and technological barriers to litigation.” Sands v. Lewis, 886 F.2d 1166 , 1169 (9th Cir. 1989) 26 [Control]. 27 While Plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status establishes that she is unable to pay for counsel 1 2008), neither this fact nor her desire to ensure justice is best served meet the exceptional 2 circumstances test. Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335 (9th Cir. 1990). Plaintiff’s inability 3 to afford counsel despite efforts to retain an attorney “does not rise to the standard of exceptional 4 circumstances.” Garcia v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep’t, Case No. 2:17-cv-02504-APG-BNW, [5] 2020 WL 3404730 , at *3 (D. Nev. June 19, 2020). 6 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of 7 Counsel (ECF No. 10) is DENIED. 8 Dated this 5th day of September, 2025. [10] ELAYNA J. YOUCHAH 11 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE