Peasley v. Spearman, et al

Filing 430

ORDER DENYING LEAVE TO FILE AMENDED COMPLAINT; GRANTING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDMGENT by Judge Jeffrey S. White granting 389 Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 418 Motion for Extension of Time to File. (kkp, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/6/2023)Any non-CM/ECF Participants have been served by First Class Mail to the addresses of record listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF)

Case 4:15-cv-01769-JSW Document 430 Filed 03/06/23 Page 1 of 4

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DAVID SCOTT PEASLEY,
Plaintiff,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 15-cv-01769-JSW

v.
M. SPEARMAN, et al.,
Defendants.

ORDER DENYING LEAVE TO FILE
AMENDED COMPLAINT; GRANTING
MOTION FOR SUMMARY
JUDMGENT
Re: Dkt. Nos. 389, 418
INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff is a California prisoner proceeding pro se. He filed this civil rights action under

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42 U.S.C. § 1983. Following remand by the Court of Appeals and reassignment of this case to the

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undersigned, one claim remains. The remaining claim is “Count 6” in which he alleges that

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Defendants Gibson, Lopez, and Orozco, officials at the California Training Facility (“CTF”),

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failed to provide him access to needed medical care on one occasion in September 2013. These

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Defendants have filed a motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff filed an opposition, and

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Defendants filed a reply brief. For the reasons discussed below, Defendants’ motion is

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GRANTED. The other pending motions are also addressed below.

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BACKGROUND

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The remaining claim (“Count 6”) alleges that Defendants Gibson, Lopez, and Orozco

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denied him access to medical care for his diabetes, specifically to a test and medication. He

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alleges that it was “common knowledge” that he had diabetes, they “were informed” that he had

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an “emergent/urgent” need for medical care, and they denied him access to such care.

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Plaintiff’s medical records show that on September 7, Plaintiff asked Gibson for a blood

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test twice. Both times, Gibson contacted nurses and relayed Plaintiff’s request. They told Gibson

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that Plaintiff could not receive a test because he did not have a medical order for one. Gibson

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relayed the nurses’ message to Plaintiff, told him that they had denied his request for a test, and

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did not allow Plaintiff to leave his cell because he was not receiving a test.
Plaintiff submits a declaration in which he states that on an unspecified date, he also twice

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asked Lopez to see medical personnel urgently. According to Plaintiff, Lopez made a call each

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time and relayed to Plaintiff that his request was denied. Lopez gave him the prison’s healthcare

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request form. Plaintiff does not submit any evidence, nor do his medical records show, any

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actions or involvement by Orozco in these alleged incidents.
DISCUSSION

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I.

Summary judgment is proper where the pleadings, discovery and affidavits show that there

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

Standard of Review

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is "no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a

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matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). Material facts are those which may affect the outcome of the

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case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242,248 (1986). A dispute as to a material fact is

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genuine if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving

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party.
The moving party for summary judgment bears the initial burden of identifying those

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portions of the pleadings, discovery and affidavits which demonstrate the absence of a genuine

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issue of material fact. Celotex Corp.v. Cattrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). When the moving party

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has met this burden of production, the nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings and, by its

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own affidavits or discovery, set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.

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If the nonmoving party fails to produce enough evidence to show a genuine issue of material fact,

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the moving party wins. Id.

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II.

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Analysis
Deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s serious medical needs violates the Eighth

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Amendment’s proscription against cruel and unusual punishment. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97,

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104 (1976); McGuckin v. Smith, 974 F.2d 1050, 1059 (9th Cir. 1992), overruled in part on other

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grounds by WMX Technologies, Inc. v. Miller, 104 F.3d 1133, 1136 (9th Cir. 1997) (en banc).

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A “serious” medical need exists if the failure to treat a prisoner’s condition could result in
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further significant injury or the “unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.” Id. at 1059. Insulin-

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dependent Type 1 diabetes is a serious medical condition for purposes of Eighth Amendment

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analysis. Lolli v. County of Orange, 351 F.3d 410, 419 (9th Cir. 2003).

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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A prison official is deliberately indifferent if he knows that a prisoner faces a substantial

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risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable steps to abate it. Farmer

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v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994). The prison official must not only “be aware of facts from

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which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists,” but he “must

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also draw the inference.” Id.

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The evidence shows that Gibson did not deny Plaintiff access to medical care. Rather, he

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provided such access by relaying Plaintiff’s requests for a blood test to a nurse. The fact that the

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nurse denied these requests was not Gibson’s fault because he was not a medical professional and

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there is no evidence that Gibson had the expertise or the authority to override the nurse’s

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determination. There is also no evidence that the reason given for denying the requests --- that

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Plaintiff did not have any medical orders for such tests in his file --- was in Gibson’s control;

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rather, it was the responsibility of medical personnel, not a correctional officer like Gibson, to

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order or authorize medical tests. Under these circumstances, there are no triable issues of fact that,

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if resolved in Plaintiff’s favor, would show that Orozco was deliberately indifferent to Plaintiff’s

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medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

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Similarly, there is no evidence that Lopez was deliberately indifferent to Plaintiff’s

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medical needs or denied him access to medical care. The evidence shows that when Plaintiff

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asked for medical attention for his diabetes, Lopez made phone calls and gave Plaintiff the form

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that was needed to obtain such care. Plaintiff asserts that his requests were urgent or emergent,

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but there is no opinion to that effect by any medical professional nor is there any evidence that the

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healthcare request form that Lopez gave him was not appropriate for urgent or emergent medical

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needs. To the contrary, the fact that there is no evidence that Plaintiff suffered medical harm

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suggests that Lopez’s actions were not medically inappropriate. Neither Plaintiff’s dissatisfaction

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with Lopez’s response to his requests, nor his lay opinion that such response was medically

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inadequate, create a triable factual question as to whether Lopez acted with deliberate
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indifference..
There is no allegation or evidence of what Orozco did or failed to do to deny Plaintiff

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medical attention or care for his diabetes in the incidents raised in his remaining claim. Plaintiff’s

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conclusory allegations that Orozco knew he had diabetes but denied him medical care for it are not

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supported by any evidence or even allegations of specific facts regarding when, where, or how

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Orozco knew about Plaintiff’s medical needs or denied him care for such needs. Consequently,

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there are no triable factual issues as to whether Orozco violated Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment

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rights.

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III.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Motions
Plaintiff is DENIED leave to file his proposed amended complaint. He has not shown

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cause for the extraordinary delay in seeking leave to file the proposed amended complaint, which

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adds a claim for assault based upon facts known to him in 2016. See Sonoma County Ass’n of

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Retired Employees v. Sonoma County, 708 F.3d 1109, 1117 (9th Cir. 2013) (undue delay one of

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reasons for denying leave to amend); Jackson v. Bank of Hawaii, 902 F.2d 1385, 1388 (9th Cir.

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1990) (upholding denial of leave to amend based upon eight-month delay). Plaintiff’s motion for

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an extension of time to file an opposition (ECF No. 418) to the motion for summary judgment is

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GRANTED.

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CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff’s

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remaining claim is GRANTED.

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The clerk shall enter judgment and close the file.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: March 6, 2023

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JEFFREY S. WHITE
United States District Judge

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