Opinion ID: 718612
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Merits of the Eighth Amendment Claim

Text: 39 The Eighth Amendment requires prison officials to take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of inmates in their custody. Farmer, --- U.S. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 1976. Moreover, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, prison officials are liable for harm incurred by an inmate if the officials acted with deliberate indifference to the safety of the inmate. Morales v. New York State Dep't of Corrections, 842 F.2d 27, 30 (2d Cir.1988). However, to state a cognizable section 1983 claim, the prisoner must allege actions or omissions sufficient to demonstrate deliberate indifference; mere negligence will not suffice. 40 The test for deliberate indifference is twofold. First, the plaintiff must demonstrate that he is incarcerated under conditions posing a substantial risk of serious harm. Second, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant prison officials possessed sufficient culpable intent. Farmer, --- U.S. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 1977. The second prong of the deliberate indifference test, culpable intent, in turn, involves a two-tier inquiry. Specifically, a prison official has sufficient culpable intent if he has knowledge that an inmate faces a substantial risk of serious harm and he disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable measures to abate the harm. Id. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 1984. 41 The district court concluded, and the defendants concede, that Hayes was incarcerated under conditions posing a substantial risk of serious harm. However, with respect to culpable intent, the district court concluded that the defendants lacked the requisite knowledge of risk to Hayes' safety prior to the February 15, 1989 attack, and that after that incident, the defendants took reasonable measures to abate the risk of harm. In determining that the defendants lacked requisite knowledge of the risk, the court relied primarily on its conclusion that Hayes did not identify his enemies to the defendants. 42 The district judge erred in concluding that there was not a material dispute with respect to the defendants' knowledge prior to the February 15, 1989 attack. First, we note that the issue is not whether Hayes identified his enemies by name to prison officials, but whether they were aware of a substantial risk of harm to Hayes. Although a prisoner's identification of his enemies is certainly relevant to the question of knowledge, it is not, necessarily, outcome determinative. Second, accepting all of Hayes' deposition testimony as true, Hayes did identify the source of the threats to defendant Grillo. Moreover, the presence of Tillman at the February 12, 1989 meeting with Grillo requires, on summary judgment, the affirmative inference that Grillo was aware of the source of Hayes' difficulties. Although a jury ultimately could conclude, as did the district court, that Grillo believed Hayes was actually a threat to Tillman, the summary judgment standard requires the court to draw all inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Thus, there was a genuine issue as to a material fact, namely, the defendants' knowledge of a substantial risk of harm to Hayes. Because the record does not reveal any protective measures prior to the February 15, 1989 attack, summary judgment was improper. 43 However, the district court also erred in concluding that there was not a genuine issue as to the reasonableness of the defendants' protective measures after the February 15, 1989 attack. First, Hayes repeatedly expressed his fears to numerous DOC personnel and repeatedly requested a transfer. Although the defendants testified that DOC policy and practice permit special protective measures when an inmate provides specific identifying information regarding the source of a threat, other DOC officials testified that it is standard procedure to relocate an inmate whenever an inmate informs officials that his life is threatened. 3 Thus, without further evidentiary support, we cannot conclude that the decision not to transfer Hayes was reasonable as a matter of law. 44 Second, even short of a transfer, there is a genuine issue as to whether the defendants' protective measures were reasonable. The first attack was extremely violent, causing severe injuries to Hayes. Additionally, mental health workers had documented Hayes' agitated mental state after the first attack and concluded that he presented a security risk. Nevertheless, despite the first altercation between Hayes and Grams, DOC officials failed to issue a separation order for the two. Moreover, despite the known risk to Hayes after the February 15, 1989 attack, Hayes was not under escort when he was attacked on March 10, 1989. Under these circumstances, it is difficult for us to conclude that the defendants' protective measures were so significant as to be reasonable as a matter of law. 45 In short, the reasonableness of the defendants' actions in this case is suitable for resolution by a jury at trial. Thus, the district court erred in granting the defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissing appellant's Eighth Amendment claim as to all defendants. 4