Walls v. Corrections Corporation of America

Filing 76

ORDER that inasmuch as Mr. Walls's Objections to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (# 71 ) is itself a motion for summary judgment, it is DENIED; FURTHER ORDERED that inasmuch as Mr. Walls's Objections to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (# 71 ) is a motion for reconsideration, it is DENIED. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 12/17/2018. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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ALEXANDER WALLS,

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Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.
CORECIVIC, INC.,

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Case No. 2:14-cv-02201-KJD-PAL

Defendant.
Before the Court is Plaintiff Alexander Walls’s Objections to Defendant’s Motion for
Summary Judgment (#71) to which Defendant CoreCivic, Inc. responded (#74).

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This case arises out of a series of prison fights at the Nevada Southern Detention Center,

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a corrections facility owned and operated by CoreCivic. In the second of three fights on January

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3, 2014, Mr. Walls was stabbed in the left eye with a prison shank. Despite his injury, Mr. Walls

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did not notify prison staff that he had been stabbed until after a subsequent cell-wide brawl.

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Prison medical staff then examined the extent of Mr. Walls’s injury. They determined he could

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not be adequately treated in-house and transferred Mr. Walls to two different hospitals where he

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received specialized care. Unfortunately, doctors were unable to save his left eye, which was

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surgically removed. Mr. Walls then brought this suit claiming that CoreCivic staff negligently

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delayed his medical treatment. He also claimed that CoreCivic’s conduct was so extreme and

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outrageous that they were liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Each claim was

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based on Mr. Walls’s belief that had CoreCivic transported him to the hospital earlier, doctors

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could have saved his eye.

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This Court entered summary judgment in favor of CoreCivic on October 19, 2018. It

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found that any delay in Mr. Walls’s care was due to his own delay and evasion rather than any

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failure by CoreCivic. Eleven days later, Mr. Walls filed objections to CoreCivic’s motion for

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summary judgment (#71). That filing raised three new arguments none of which appeared in his

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opposition to CoreCivic’s motion for summary judgment. They are: (1) that CoreCivic

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negligently housed Mr. Walls in a prison environment “unsuitable for sex offenders;” (2) that

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CoreCivic’s negligence caused Mr. Walls to be assaulted due to his sex-offender classification;

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and (3) that CoreCivic negligently failed to discover and confiscate the shank used to attack Mr.

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Walls. It is unclear from Mr. Walls’s motion whether he now moves for summary judgment or

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seeks reconsideration of the Court’s prior order. Regardless, Mr. Walls has not met either

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standard. Accordingly, the Court overrules his objections and denies his request for summary

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judgment.

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Inasmuch as Mr. Walls’s motion seeks summary judgment, it is untimely. Rule 56 allows

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a party to seek summary judgment at any time until thirty days after discovery has closed. Fed.

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R. Civ. P. 56(b). However, the Court may extend this deadline if good cause exists. Johnson v.

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Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). Good cause to alter a scheduling

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order exists where the party requesting the alteration could not file their motion despite

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exercising diligence. Id.; Fed. R. Civ. P. 16. A party’s carelessness or mere failure to meet

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applicable deadlines, however, does not warrant alteration of a scheduling order. See Engleson v.

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Burlington Northern R. Co., 972 F.2d 1038, 1033 (9th Cir. 1992).

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The Court sees no reason to extend the filing deadline to allow Mr. Walls to seek

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summary judgment. Discovery in this case is closed. The deadline for dispositive motions was

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July 30, 2018. Yet, Mr. Walls offers no reason for delaying his request for summary judgment

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for four months. Nor does he present evidence of a diligent attempt to seek summary judgment

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prior to the deadline. In fact, his current motion merely presents three conclusory, unsupported

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allegations that could have been pleaded at any stage of the litigation. Further, even if the Court

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considered the merits of Mr. Walls’s motion for summary judgment, he has not presented

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evidence of an absence of material fact necessary to grant summary judgment in his favor. See

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). Therefore, to the extent

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Mr. Walls seeks summary judgment, his motion is denied.

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Likewise, Mr. Walls has failed to demonstrate grounds for reconsideration of the Court’s

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October 18 order granting summary judgment. Reconsideration is an “extraordinary remedy”

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that should be used sparingly to correct serious errors. See Carroll v. Nakatani, 342 F.3d 934,

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945 (9th Cir. 2003). As such, it is generally disfavored. LR 59-1. Due to the interests of

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judgment and finality, reconsideration is appropriate only where the Court has committed clear

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error, has been presented with newly discovered evidence, or when the controlling law has

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changed since judgment was entered. Kona Enter. v. Estate of Bishop, 229 F.3d 877, 890 (9th

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Cir. 2000). Indeed, reconsideration carries a high bar for relief.

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Reconsideration is not appropriate where, as here, the requesting party merely raises new

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arguments that he reasonably could have raised earlier in the litigation. Nakatani, 342 F.3d at

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945. Mr. Walls’s current motion presents no evidence of error in the Court’s judgment. It does

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not illuminate a recent change in the law governing his claims. Nor does it present any evidence

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that Mr. Walls could not have presented before the Court issued summary judgment. Mr. Walls

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had the opportunity to present each of these additional arguments prior to the close of discovery

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and again in his opposition to CoreCivic’s motion for summary judgment but did not do so.

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Given that Mr. Walls has failed to demonstrate a valid reason for the Court to reconsider its

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October 18 order, it declines to do so.

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Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that inasmuch as Mr. Walls’s Objections to

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Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (#71) is itself a motion for summary judgment, it is

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DENIED;

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that inasmuch as Mr. Walls’s Objections to Defendant’s
Motion for Summary Judgment (#71) is a motion for reconsideration, it is DENIED.

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Dated this 17th day of December, 2018.

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_____________________________
Kent J. Dawson
United States District Judge

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