Mark Brown v. C. Flores ( 2019 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 28 2019
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
MARK A. BROWN, No. 18-16807
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 5:18-cv-01578-LHK
v.
MEMORANDUM*
C. FLORES, Correctional Officer, Salinas
Valley Prison; et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Lucy H. Koh, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted February 19, 2019**
Before: FERNANDEZ, SILVERMAN, and WATFORD, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Mark A. Brown appeals pro se from the district
court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging deliberate
indifference. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a
dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Hamilton v. Brown, 630 F.3d 889, 892 (9th
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Cir. 2011). We reverse and remand.
The district court dismissed Brown’s action on the basis that Brown’s
allegations were too conclusory to infer that each defendant knew of a substantial
risk of serious harm to Brown and failed to act. However, Brown alleged in his
verified amended complaint that he personally notified defendants that his cell was
flooding with water, creating a hazard to his safety and preventing him from using
his sink and toilet, and that defendants declined to help him. Liberally construed,
these allegations “are sufficient to warrant ordering [defendants] to file an answer.”
Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1116 (9th Cir. 2012); see also Johnson v.
Lewis, 217 F.3d 726, 732 (9th Cir. 2000) (deprivation of sanitation may amount to
an Eighth Amendment violation); Anderson v. County of Kern, 45 F.3d 1310, 1314
(9th Cir. 1995) (“[S]ubjection of a prisoner to lack of sanitation that is severe or
prolonged can constitute an infliction of pain within the meaning of the Eighth
Amendment.”). We therefore reverse the judgment and remand for further
proceedings.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
2 18-16807