Balbin v. Latin

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Case No. 22-cv-20332-BLOOM MANUEL BALBIN, Plaintiff, v. J. LATIN, et al, Defendants. / ORDER THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Petitioner Manuel Balbin’s Motion for Court Appointed Counsel and Motion for Extension of Time for Discovery, ECF No. [73]. For the reasons explained below, the Motion is denied.

A. Motion for Counsel “A civil litigant . . . has no absolute constitutional right to the appointment of counsel.”

Poole v. Lambert, 819 F.2d 1025, 1028 (11th Cir. 1987) (citation omitted). Rather, appointment of counsel is only justified by “exceptional circumstances, such as where the facts and legal issues are so novel or complex as to require the assistance of a trained practitioner.” Id. Here, Petitioner fails to make the requisite showing.

B. Motion for Extension of Time Plaintiff argues for an extension “to May 1, 2023, or further, so Plaintiff may serve interrogatories and admissions, depositions and production upon Defendants.” ECF No. [73] at 1.

Plaintiff fails to show good cause for such a lengthy extension and the motion is therefore denied.

Moreover, at present, Plaintiff need only respond to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Case No. 22-cv-20332-BLOOM Judgment, ECF No. [69]. The filing of the instant Motion demonstrates that Plaintiff can respond.

Plaintiff is thus reminded that on or before February 15, 2023, he must respond to the Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment.

Accordingly, Plaintiff's Motion for Court Appointed Counsel and Motion for Extension of Time for Discovery, ECF No. [73], is DENIED.

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida, on February 13, 2023.

BETH BLOOM UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Copies to: Counsel of Record Manuel Balbin #B05748 Okeechobee Correctional Institution Inmate Mail/Parcels 3420 NE 168th Street Okeechobee, FL 34972 PRO SE