Reedy v. West

988 F.3d 907

David REEDY, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.Michael WEST, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 20-1367

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: January 26, 2021

Decided and Filed: February 24, 2021

ARGUED: Erin Bartels, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, East Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant. Sara Trudgeon, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Daniel E. Manville, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, East Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant. Sara Trudgeon, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellee.

Before: GUY, LARSEN, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

RALPH B. GUY, JR., Circuit Judge.

Former state prisoner David Reedy asserts an Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claim against a prison counselor, Defendant Michael West, for allegedly failing to take measures to abate the brutal assault Reedy suffered at the hands of his prison cellmate, Oscar Hensley. Finding the evidence insufficient, the district court granted summary judgment to West and rejected a magistrate judge's contrary report and recommendation. We AFFIRM.

I.

A. Factual Background

Reedy was a prisoner at a facility managed by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) in 2016. In March 2016, Reedy's cellmate was moved, and Oscar Hensley became Reedy's new cellmate. In the first hours of July 20, 2016, Reedy was assaulted by Hensley.

Reedy testified that, "[f]or the most part," his relationship with Hensley prior to the assault "was good." The two prisoners first met when Hensley moved in as Reedy's cellmate. Two days later, Reedy learned from other inmates that Hensley was moved because he had been caught masturbating to pictures of his cellmate's grandchildren. Reedy never confronted Hensley with this information but, from then on, Reedy and Hensley did not talk much. Reedy kept to himself (staying away from the cell from 8:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. attending classes), and Hensley kept to himself. At the time, Hensley was a fifty-three-year-old Caucasian, stood six feet and one inch tall, weighed 198 pounds, and was serving a sentence for first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person under thirteen years of age.¹ Reedy was a forty-seven-year-old African American, stood five feet and eight inches tall, weighed 160 pounds, and was serving a sentence for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.²

According to Reedy, Hensley first threatened him sometime in late June. The "last threat" Hensley made toward Reedy was at the "end of June, early July." In his verified complaint, Reedy alleges that on about June 18, 2016, he told Assistant Resident Unit Supervisor (ARUS) Edwin Wade "about the threats against [his] life made by [Hensley]." Wade's caseload included Hensley and Reedy, as they were housed in the section of the prison Wade covered.

On July 13, Reedy was able to locate prison counselor Michael West and spoke with him for "maybe 60 seconds."³ Reedy acknowledges that he was not assigned to West, did not regularly see West, and "didn't really have a relationship with [West]." In the sixty-second interaction he had with West, Reedy states that he told West "that [his] bunkie had threatened [him] and we needed to move or can we do something about the situation[?]" West allegedly responded, "I'll get back with you," and then never did. When asked at his deposition if he told West "how [his] bunkie threatened [him]," Reedy candidly answered, "No, I didn't."

Six days later, at approximately 8:00 A.M. on July 19, Reedy and Hensley went together to West's office. ARUS Wade was on vacation. Reedy testified that Hensley went into the office first and spoke with West. Reedy admits that he could not hear the conversation between West and Hensley. Approximately sixty seconds later, Hensley stepped out of the office and West commented to Hensley, "do what you got to do." Hensley then took a step back and, leaning into West's office, said, "do what I got to do?" To which West replied, "yes." At that point, Hensley walked away.

Reedy then went into the office to speak with West. Reedy's counsel asked Reedy if he "reiterate[d] [his] fear for [his] safety," and Reedy answered, "Yes," without any further explanation. "[A]ww, [Hensley] ain't going to do nothing," West allegedly replied, "if [Hensley] wants to move tell him to come hit me and I'll send him so far up north with paperwork up his ...." (Ellipsis in original.) Reedy did not "talk about anything else" with West on July 19. And when Reedy was specifically asked if the above communications on July 13 and July 19 were "the entirety of [his] communications with Mr. West," Reedy answered unequivocally, "Yes, yes."

West also recalls the meeting with Reedy and Hensley on approximately July 19, but his version of the events is different. According to West, the conversation took place outside his office door with Reedy, Hensley, and himself all present, but he claims Reedy did not say anything. West testified that Hensley stated, "You guys got to move this motherfucker out of my cell" or "whatever happens ... is going to be onto [you]." With that, West replied, "Hold on. You're not going to tell me who I am moving, who I'm not moving." West asked Hensley and Reedy "how old they were." After the inmates answered, West remarked, "You guys are adults. You know, any actions that you take, that falls upon you for anything that does happen." West admits that, at some point, Hensley stated that he needed "to be moved" or he was "going to do what he's got to do." After West concluded by saying, "You guys should be able to get this figured out," Hensley and Reedy walked away. West claims, however, that Reedy came back to West's office approximately a half hour later and said that he and Hensley had "talked and everything was good."⁴

Early the next morning, on July 20, Hensley used a softball-sized rock in a mesh laundry bag to beat Reedy while he was sleeping. Reedy sustained a laceration and contusions to his head and began seizing while he was receiving treatment.

Michigan State Police investigated the incident. The trooper who interviewed Reedy at the prison facility three days after the incident asked Reedy what issues there were between him and Hensley. First, Reedy advised that he did not have a problem with Hensley "throwing the sheet" (masturbating) on a daily basis, but there was "tension" because Hensley apparently felt that Reedy was talking with other prisoners about his masturbating. Second, the trooper asked if there were racial issues, and Reedy acknowledged that there were. Third, Reedy mentioned that he and Hensley had "several conversations regarding [Reedy] slamming the door." According to Reedy, Hensley did "not approve of how he shuts the door." Reedy explained that he and Hensley went to West to "request a room change." The trooper then asked Reedy "what his reason was to be moved and he stated that they were just too different to live with each other." In his MDOC grievance filed shortly thereafter and attached to his complaint, Reedy asserted that he had made "requests for a room change" to various prison staff because he claimed Hensley "was becoming increasingly menacing and hostile" toward him.

B. Procedural History

Reedy filed this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against defendants West, ARUS Wade, Warden Paul Klee, and three other prison officials, alleging a violation of his constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment. With the exception of West, the other defendants were later dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a stipulated order.

West moved for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds, arguing Reedy had failed to establish a constitutional violation. The magistrate judge issued a report and recommendation denying the motion, to which West filed timely objections. The district court concluded that there was insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find in favor of Reedy as to both an objective, substantial risk of serious harm to Reedy prior to the assault and that West was deliberately indifferent to that risk. Consequently, the district court sustained West's objections, rejected the magistrate judge's recommendation, and granted summary judgment in favor of West. This timely appeal followed.

II.

"We review the district court's denial of summary judgment de novo." Beck v. Hamblen Cty. , 969 F.3d 592, 598 (6th Cir. 2020) (citing Williams v. Mehra , 186 F.3d 685, 690 (6th Cir. 1999) (en banc)). At summary judgment, "[t]he evidence of the nonmovant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor.’ " Tolan v. Cotton , 572 U.S. 650, 651, 134 S.Ct. 1861, 188 L.Ed.2d 895 (2014) (alteration in original) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ). Summary judgment is appropriate when "no genuine dispute as to any material fact" exists and the moving party "is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). When the movant carries this burden, the nonmoving party must adduce "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." See Haddad v. Gregg , 910 F.3d 237, 243 (6th Cir. 2018) (citation omitted). "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no ‘genuine issue for trial.’ " Scott v. Harris , 550 U.S. 372, 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007) (quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) ).

III.

West sought summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. The doctrine of qualified immunity shields government officials from liability for civil damages unless the plaintiff establishes: "(1) that the official violated a statutory or constitutional right, and (2) that the right was ‘clearly established’ at the time of the challenged conduct." Ashcroft v. al-Kidd , 563 U.S. 731, 735, 131 S.Ct. 2074, 179 L.Ed.2d 1149 (2011) (quotin...