United States Ninth Circuit

In an action brought by plaintiff-inmate under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 alleging deliberate indifference to medical needs in connection with his dental care, judgment in favor of defendant-prison dentist and defendant-prison administrators is affirmed, where: 1) a prison official sued for money damages under section 1983 may raise a lack of available resources as a defense; 2) the district court properly advised the jury to consider the resources that the prison dentist had available when determining if he was deliberately indifferent; 3) the jury had sufficient evidence on which to base a finding that a lack of resources caused any delay in providing care; and 4) the district court did not err by granting judgment as a matter of law in favor of the prison's Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Dental Officer, and the court was not precluded from reconsidering its pretrial ruling.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/06/2014
• Published 03/06/2014

Judges

• KOZINSKI

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel