Hill v. Lappin, 09-5575
By
FindLaw Staff
on December 28, 2010
| Last updated on March 21, 2019
Pro se inmate's civil rights action
Hill v. Lappin, 09-5575, concerned a challenge to the district court's dismissal of an inmate's suit as frivolous, in the inmate's pro se civil rights action against the director of the Bureau of Prisons and four prison staff members, seeking damages, a temporary restraining order, and a preliminary injunction to prevent his transfer to a lock-down unit to another prison facility.
In reversing the district court's judgment and vacating the entry of
dismissal, the court held that plaintiff's complaint established the
protected-conduct element when scrutinized under the
failure-to-state-a-claim standard, and because his allegations that the
staff were being abusive is at least plausible, his complaint should not
be dismissed as frivolous. Also, because plaintiff's allegation that
he was placed in segregated housing is at least plausible, and because
being threatened with a transfer to a more restrictive living
environment with fewer privileges would deter a person of ordinary
firmness from exercising the constitutional right to file grievances,
plaintiff's complaint therefore established the adverse-action element
of a First Amendment retaliation claim when scrutinized under the
failure-to-state-a-claim standard. Lastly, the court held that the
evidentiary facts are sufficient at this stage of the proceedings to
satisfy the retaliatory-motive element of plaintiff's First Amendment
retaliation claim.
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