The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TALLAHASSEE DIVISION
FROMON D. JENRETTE,
Plaintiff,
v. Case No. 4:20-cv-275-TKW-MAF
SERGEANT BARTELL and
OFFICER PUMPHREY,
Defendants.
/
ORDER
This case is before the Court based on the magistrate judge’s Report and
Recommendation. (Doc. 54). No objections were filed.
Upon due consideration of the Report and Recommendation and the case file,
the Court agrees with the magistrate judge’s determination that there are genuine
disputes of material fact that preclude entry of summary judgment. However, the
Court disagrees with magistrate judge’s conclusory recommendation that counsel be
appointed for Plaintiff.
It is well established that the appointment of counsel in a civil case is justified
“only in exceptional circumstances, ‘such as where the facts and legal issues are so
novel or complex as to require the assistance of a trained practitioner,’” McDaniels
v. Lee, 405 F. App'x 456, 457 (11th Cir. 2010) (quoting Fowler v. Jones, 899 F.2d
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1088, 1096 (11th Cir.1990)), and here, the facts in dispute are simple and the legal
issues involved are straightforward. The fact that the case survived summary
judgment is not enough in and of itself to justify the appointment of counsel, and
although Plaintiff (and the Court) might benefit from the involvement of counsel in
this case, the Court is not persuaded that this is one of those exceptional cases in
which counsel should be appointed because (1) the case only involves matters
personally witnessed by Plaintiff, cf. Smith v. Fla. Dep’t of Corrections, 713 F.3d
1059, 1065 (11th Cir. 2013), (2) the case does not involve expert witnesses or
complex technical matters, (3) Plaintiff has shown through his filings that he is
capable of presenting the merits of his position to the Court, and (4) the crux of
Defendants defense is that they were unaware of the risk to Plaintiff, not that their
acts and omissions would have been justified (or that they would have been protected
by qualified immunity or some other complex legal doctrine) if they had been aware
of the risk.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that:
1. The Report and Recommendation is adopted and incorporated by
reference in this Order, except as stated above.
2. Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (Doc. 39) is DENIED.
3. Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel (Doc. 52) is DENIED.
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4. The Clerk shall return this case to the magistrate judge for further
pretrial proceedings, including at the magistrate judge’s discretion a
settlement conference and publication of notice to the Bar regarding the
opportunity to provide pro bono representation to Plaintiff.
DONE and ORDERED this 12th day of November, 2021.
T. Kent Wetherell, II
T. KENT WETHERELL, II
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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