Johnson Obiegbu v. Warden Loretto FCI

BLD-374 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 14-1711
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JOHNSON OBIEGBU,
Appellant
v.
WARDEN LORETTO FCI; DR. J. TRIMBATH, Medical Director;
S. BURKE, Physician Assistant; DR. SHEDLOCK, Optometrist;
DR. MICHAEL CASH, Medical Director; DR. HOWARD, Opthamologist;
RODGRIGUEZ MIRALLES, HSS, IOP/IDC; CRAIG WIRFEL, Counselor
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil No. 3-10-cv-00277)
District Judge: Honorable Kim R. Gibson
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Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) or Summary
Action Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
September 5, 2014
Before: AMBRO, CHAGARES and VANASKIE, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: September 16, 2014 )
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OPINION
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1
PER CURIAM
Pro se litigant Johnson Obiegbu, proceeding in forma pauperis, appeals the
District Court’s order granting summary judgment to Defendant Craig Wirfel. For the
reasons set forth below, we will summarily affirm the District Court’s judgment.
On July 13, 2010, an inmate named Solomon was transferred into the 8-man cell
in which Obiegbu was housed at the Federal Correctional Institute in Loretto,
Pennsylvania. The following month, Solomon complained to prison medical staff about
itchiness and was diagnosed with scabies on August 17.1 He was quarantined and
prescribed medication for the condition. On August 31, he was evaluated as in remission
and released from isolation. In the meantime, Obiegbu filed a grievance complaining
about the “psychological and emotional injury” he sustained as a result of being housed
alongside someone later diagnosed with scabies. In May of 2011, approximately nine
months after Solomon’s brief time in his cell, Obiegbu was transferred to the United
States Penitentiary, Canaan, and was diagnosed with scabies.
Obiegbu initiated this action in the Western District of Pennsylvania in November
2010, asserting a number of constitutional violations against eight defendants, pursuant to
Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388
(1971). The District Court granted the Defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint as to
1
According to an exhibit submitted by Obiegbu and attributed to the Mayo Clinic,
scabies is an itchy skin condition caused by a mite. Solomon had been treated for scabies
at his previous facility, but the condition was considered resolved. Solomon did in fact
complain about itchiness at Loretto prior to the August diagnosis of scabies, but his
itchiness had been attributed to other maladies, including “dermatitis/eczema due to
unspecified cause” and “possible psoriasis.”
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all defendants and claims with one exception: Obiegbu’s claim that Wirfel deliberately
exposed him to scabies in retaliation for the grievances he had filed against Wirfel.
Discovery was conducted on this one remaining claim, after which Wirfel moved
for summary judgment. The Magistrate Judge recommended granting that motion.2
Obiegbu filed objections to the Magistrate Judge’s report, but the District Court was
unpersuaded by them. It granted Wirfel’s motion for summary judgment, and Obiegbu
filed a timely notice of appeal. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and exercise
plenary review over the District Court’s order granting summary judgment to Wirfel. See
State Auto Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Pro Design, P.C., 566 F.3d 86, 89 (3d Cir. 2009).
To prove that prison officials retaliated against a prisoner for exercising his
constitutional rights, the prisoner must show: (1) he had engaged in constitutionally-
protected conduct; (2) he suffered adverse action by prison officials that is sufficient to
deter a person of ordinary firmness from exercising his constitutional rights; and (3) a
causal link between the exercise of the constitutional right and the adverse action taken
against him. See Rauser v. Horn, 241 F.3d 330, 333 (3d Cir. 2001); see also Carter v.
McGrady, 292 F.3d 152, 157-58 (3d Cir. 2002). Assuming, arguendo, that Obiegbu has
presented evidence with respect to the first and second criteria, it is the third criterion on
which this claim collapses.
2
The Magistrate Judge opined that a First Amendment claim for retaliation, such as the
one at bar, may not be cognizable under Bivens. He therefore chose to construe the
complaint as an Eighth Amendment claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical
needs. Obiegbu protests that approach. Because his complaint fails even under the First
Amendment retaliation rubric (described infra), we need not, and do not, decide that
question here.
3
Obiegbu claims that Wirfel knowingly exposed him to scabies in order to punish
him for filing grievances. But Obiegbu has not presented any evidence that Wirfel
actually knew Solomon had scabies at the time of the transfer. Obiegbu points to a
“copout” from Robert Kutzer (who was housed with Obiegbu and Solomon) to a case
manager named Mr. Perehinec, which noted that Solomon seemed itchy and asked
whether he had been diagnosed with anything contagious. The copout is dated August
11, 2010. This August document between Kutzer and Perehinec says nothing about the
issue in question, namely whether Wirfel knew Solomon had scabies at the time Solomon
entered Obiegbu’s cell.
Wirfel, for his part, has presented considerable evidence that he did not know. His
sworn declaration indicates that he does not have access to inmates’ medical records.
Indeed, Solomon’s medical records are offered to this Court only for in camera review.
Furthermore, declarations from the prison health systems administrator and Solomon
himself demonstrate that even if Wirfel did have access to Solomon’s medical records,
there would have been nothing to read in this regard; Solomon was not diagnosed with or
even suspected of having scabies until a month after he was transferred to Obiegbu’s cell.
Summary judgment is appropriate if the movant shows that there is no genuine
dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A dispute is “genuine” only if there is a sufficient evidentiary
basis on which a reasonable jury could find for the non-moving party. See Thomas v.
Cumberland Cnty., 749 F.3d 217, 222 (3d Cir. 2014). Because Obiegbu has presented no
evidence to suggest that Wirfel knew Solomon had scabies at the time of the transfer, he
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has failed to provide a sufficient evidentiary basis on which a reasonable jury could find
the necessary causal link between his grievance-filing and his subsequent exposure to
scabies. Without this critical element, a reasonable jury could not find retaliation. See
Hill v. Lappin, 630 F.3d 468, 475 (6th Cir. 2010) (stating that to survive summary
judgment on First Amendment retaliation claim, some evidence of retaliatory motive is
required, and conclusory allegations unsupported by material facts will not suffice); see
also Estate of Smith v. Marasco, 318 F.3d 497, 513 (3d Cir. 2003) (concluding that First
Amendment retaliation claim fails at summary judgment because there was no evidence
suggesting an intent to retaliate caused or contributed to the adverse action).
Accordingly, we will affirm the District Court’s grant of summary judgment to Wirfel.
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