McMahan v. Wilder

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
APR 11 2005
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
DAVID O. McMAHAN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
No. 04-7115
v.
(Eastern District of Oklahoma)
(D.C. No. 03-CV-166-W)
BOB WILDER, County Sheriff;
LINDA VOYLES, Jail Administrator,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before BRISCOE, LUCERO, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this court has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
David O. McMahan appeals from the district court’s grant of summary
judgment in favor of the defendants on McMahan’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights
complaint. In his complaint, McMahan asserted that defendants subjected him to
cruel and unusual punishment when they placed him in a jail cell with an inmate
known to be infected with Hepatitis C. 1 In a thorough order granting summary
judgment to the defendants, the district court first set out the standard governing
conditions-of-confinement claims from Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994).
Applying that standard, the district court concluded that McMahan had failed to
demonstrate he was incarcerated under conditions that posed a substantial risk of
harm. In particular, the district court noted the record demonstrated that Hepatitis
C is not spread through airborne transmission or casual contact, but is instead
spread only through an exchange of bodily fluids. Here, the record was devoid of
any evidence that McMahan’s infected cellmate had a history of violent or risky
behavior that would increase the likelihood of transmission to other inmates. In
fact, McMahan had not alleged any instances where he had come into contact with
his cellmate’s bodily fluids. Because McMahan failed to come forward with any
1
It appears that McMahan was a pretrial detainee at the time of the events
giving rise to his civil rights complaint. As noted by the district court, however,
the Eighth Amendment standard serves as the analytical benchmark for such
claims. See McClendon v. City of Albuquerque, 79 F.3d 1014, 1022 (10th Cir.
1996).
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evidence that the defendants disregarded an excessive risk to his health, the
district court concluded the defendants were entitled to summary judgment.
This court has reviewed de novo 2 the parties’ briefs and contentions, the
district court’s order, and the entire record on appeal. That review demonstrates
no reversible error. Accordingly, the district court is affirmed for substantially
those reasons set out in its order dated October 20, 2004.
AFFIRMED.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
2
This court reviews a grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the
same standards employed by the district court. Byers v. City of Albuquerque, 150
F.3d 1271, 1274 (10th Cir. 1998). Summary judgment is appropriate “if the
pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,
together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material
fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.
Civ. P. 56(c). The factual record and reasonable inferences therefrom are viewed
in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment. Concrete
Works of Colo., Inc., v. City & County of Denver, 36 F.3d 1513, 1517 (10th Cir.
1994). Although a pro se plaintiff’s pleadings are construed liberally and held to
a less stringent standard than pleadings drafted by lawyers, McMahan must
nevertheless set forth sufficient facts to support his claims. Hall v. Bellmon, 935
F.2d 1106, 1110-12 (10th Cir. 1991).
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